A group of six priests and seminarians of the Archdiocese of Seattle will bike more than 150 miles in three days to promote priestly vocations as part of the fourth annual “Pedaling the Priesthood” bike ride July 16–18.
Archdiocesan director of vocations Father Bryan Dolejsi will be joined by vicar for clergy Father Gary Zender and Father Jim Lee, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Olympia, as well as seminarians Jonathan Cheever, Kyle Poje and Daniel Webster. Along the way, they’ll stop at parishes to celebrate Mass and give talks about the vocation to the priesthood.
The idea, Father Dolejsi said, is to raise awareness about the vocation and “try to make it more accessible” by showing that priests can still do normal, fun things.
Here’s their schedule:
Thursday, July 16: After 9 a.m. Mass at St. Benedict Church in Seattle, the riders will depart at 10 a.m. for Edmonds, then take a ferry and ride to Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Bremerton in time for a 7 p.m. youth night.
Friday, July 17: After 9 a.m. Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea and speaking with the kids at the parish’s summer catechetical program, the riders will depart at 11 a.m. for St. Michael Parish in Olympia for a 6:30 p.m. Mass, followed by dinner and a talk.
Saturday, July 18: The riders will depart from St. Michael at 8 a.m. and ride to St. Louise de Marillac Church in Bellevue in time for the 5 p.m. vigil Mass, followed by dinner and a talk.
Father Dolejsi kicked off the “Pedaling the Priesthood” tradition in 2012. That year, the riders visited Forks, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Anacortes; in 2013, Blaine, Mount Vernon, Everett and Renton; and last year, Vancouver, Stevenson and Longview.
The plan, Father Dolejsi said, is to eventually cover every area of the archdiocese.
“Hopefully we’ll just keep rolling along.”