Detroit -- We have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We have Administrative Assistants’ Day and Boss’s Day.

Depending on how detailed we like our calendars, we might have Grandparents’ Day or even National Postal Workers Day.

But it wasn’t until 2003 that Catholic groups around the country collaborated to decide that the last Sunday in October would become Priesthood Sunday.

This year, Priesthood Sunday – a day to show support for priests with prayer, celebration and dialogue – falls on Oct. 31. Lay people around the country will mark the celebration by showing their appreciation for the devoted priests who serve God’s people with faith and wisdom.

It’s a day that founders of Priesthood Sunday – including the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, which represents more than 26,000 U.S. priests – hope will lead to more vocations around the country, as well.

“The purpose of Priesthood Sunday is to engage every level of the church in the United States in a national conversation about the priesthood,” said Rev. Richard Vega, President of NFPC.

In the Archdiocese of Detroit, the impact of priests is obvious. The metro area has 428 archdiocesan priests, and another 206 priests who belong to religious orders. They run our parishes, provide spiritual direction to schools, universities, and various other institutions. Most importantly, they are instrumental in the key moments of the lives of Catholics – hearing confession, officiating at weddings, baptizing, anointing the sick, presiding at funerals, and, of course, representing Christ at the altar at Mass.

Throughout the year, we here at The Michigan Catholic hear many uplifting stories about our priests. As people in the archdiocese offer their prayers, encouragement and support to members of the clergy.  Continue visiting this website for stories from our Oct. 22  special Priesthood Sunday section of The Michigan Catholic, which is dedicated to recognizing just how much they mean to us all.