Fr. Jim Bilot awards Daniel Moening, the winner of the Name the Bear Contest his Vocation Bear, named "Pedro the Prayer Bear," watching the presentation are members of the kindergarten class from Our Lady of Sorrows.

The question was asked "how many children in the Archdiocese of Detroit have ever heard of the word 'vocations'"? When a "Pray for Vocations" bear was gifted to the Vocation Office the idea of having a "Name the Bear" contest was born. Flyers were sent to every pastor, principal and DRE inviting them to use this contest as a means to foster awareness of "vocations" with children in grades K-5. The overwhelming response from over 1,350 students indicated that the project was a huge success. There were over 880 names from which to choose, representing 88 parishes and schools throughout the Archdiocese. The winning name selected was "Pedro the Prayer Bear", submitted by Daniel Moening, a Kindergarten student at Our Lady of Sorrows School in Farmington. Even though there could only be one winner, every child who entered a name was sent a prayer card and a personal letter from Fr. Jim Bilot, Vocation Director for the Archdiocese, thanking them for participating, and encouraging them to pray for vocations. The Vocation Office plans to continue encouraging the very youngest and their families to think about vocations, creating a culture in which vocations will once again thrive.