October 12, 2009. An online resource for priests is making its mark globally.  The website www.epriest.com has reached a milestone of more than 6,000 subscribers. 

The registered users include 68% from the United States, 4% from Canada and 4% from the Philippines.  More than 50% are diocesan priests worldwide, and about 25% are priests of a particular religious order.  The remainder includes a mixture of deacons, seminarians, bishops, and people who classify themselves as “other religious.”

“The online community forum offers priests from North American, and indeed from around the world, the opportunity to exchange ideas, experiences and offer encouragement,” said director of the website Fr. Alex Yeung, LC. 

“Our goal is to be a useful resource for Catholic priests.  Today’s priest faces steadily increasing demands on his time, as well as new and complex pastoral needs stemming from a diverse and secularized society,” he said.

Yeung explained that, in addition to the benefits of an online community, ePriest offers services to its registered users, including weekly Homily Packs and parish Best Practices.  Best practices include profiles of practices currently working in real parishes.  The profiles touch all sectors of parish life including sacraments, outreach, faith formation, family, youth, vocation promotion, administration and finance and ongoing priestly formation.  Homily packs offer ingredients for an effective homily: lesson ideas drawn from the Sunday liturgy, illustrations and applications.  They also include preaching tips and, for those who need help ministering to Hispanic congregations, “ready-made” Spanish language homilies.

The website is operated by a team of lay professionals who are members of the Regnum Christi Movement and is supported by a network of diocesan priests who provide ongoing evaluation and input. 

The website is an outreach of Mission Network, an international Catholic organization that serves bishops, pastors and parish staff in helping meet their pastoral needs.  For more information, go to www.epriest.com.