Columbus, Ohio — At St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, being on the altar feels momentous for Joseph Rolwing.
He’s 27 years old and a Catholic deacon, who is set to be ordained as a Catholic priest on Saturday.
Rolwing studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. It is the only seminary outside of Italy that is governed by the Vatican.
“I was a normal high schooler, played sports, did it all,” Rolwing said. “I never thought that I would be doing this. But the Lord had other plans.”
In high school he began questioning his faith. Then in college, he felt the call.
“‘Did you hear a voice? Did you see a sign in the sky?’ No, but I was…praying, this rosary overwhelmed with this wave of peace,” Rolwing said.
Rolwing’s calling comes as the Catholic Church in the U.S. faces a serious priest shortage. Between 1970 and 2024, the number of priests fell by more than 40%, from 59,192 to 33,589, according to numbers from Georgetown’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA.
The impact has also been felt in Columbus, where 15 churches are slated to close.
“We’ve kind of made up for some gaps in the priest shortage by bringing in missionary priests from other countries, but also priests from different religious orders,” said Bishop Earl Fernandes, who leads the Columbus Diocese.
About one in four Catholic priests in the U.S. is foreign-born, according to CARA. Many could soon be forced to leave unless special visas for religious workers are extended. New bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate last month, known as the Religious Workforce Protection Act, designed to protect foreign-born religious workers to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency.
To recruit more priests in Columbus, there are retreats and monthly dinners for those considering the priesthood.
The number of new seminarians at Pontifical College has grown from 17, two-and-a-half years ago, to 40 this year.
Local Catholic leaders hope the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first ever American pope, will serve as an inspiration.
“I have never been happier than I am right now, on the cusp of becoming a priest, having made all of these promises: never get married, and never to do these things, it doesn’t make any sense in the eyes of the world,” Rolwing said. “But I’ve answered this call, and by far, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly characterized delays in the visa process for religious workers.
