We walk with men who are considering the priesthood. From the first email to the first meeting to the seminary application, the office is part of the journey. We host discernment events. We pray for you by name. We answer your questions. We help you become, understand, and take action.

The office also accompanies women discerning consecrated religious life. For inquiries about religious life for women, please contact the office directly.

The Cleveland Vocations Office is part of the Center for Pastoral Leadership in the Diocese of Cleveland.

The Vocations Office, in conjunction with Bishop Malesic, handles all admissions to Borromeo Seminary and the priestly formation program in the Diocese of Cleveland. Borromeo Seminary, the college seminary in the Diocese of Cleveland, is a community in which men discern the call to and are formed for diocesan priesthood or religious life through the integration of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation.

Borromeo Seminary forms men who are in the Propaedeutic and Discipleship stages of formation. Borromeo Seminary shares a campus with Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, which forms men in the Configuration and Vocational Synthesis Stages.

To learn more about life and formation at Borromeo: Visit Borromeo Seminary

Fr. Eric Garris

Director of Vocations

Fr. Eric Garris was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland in 2017. He served as parochial vicar at St. Raphael Parish in Bay Village and St. Gabriel Parish in Concord before being appointed Director of Vocations in 2023.

Mary Avenoso

Secretary

Mary Avenoso has served the Cleveland Vocations Office for more than 35 years. She is often the first voice you will hear when you call. Mary acts as the liaison between the office and the diocese's vocational support groups and religious orders. She also leads our annual Bishop's Seminary Brunch.

Maggie Zbiegien

Program Coordinator

Maggie Zbiegien joined the Cleveland Vocations Office in 2016. She runs our events, manages our communications and social media, and walks discerners through the formal application process to Borromeo Seminary. If you are preparing to apply, you will work with Maggie.