Single life: The overlooked vocation

Mar 26, 2025

By Lavoisier Fernandes
If you are Catholic, one might recognize that the three Church-designated vocation callings are — religious life, marriage, and being single.

However, within the Catholic community discourse, one needs to say that being single is not always fun. This is because traditionally the single life has not been viewed as a vocation because it is not a vowed life.

The single life vocation — whilst overlooking its contribution to society is sporadically denigrated, with the default vocations of marriage, religious life, or consecrated life getting more prominence.

Misconceptions
The general perception within Catholic discourse also mimics our post-modern age which indicates that single life is for partying and then a “way-station” until marriage, or between marriages, or a dumping-ground designation for those who are unable to attract a partner.

Many enter marriage or religious life in haste, sometimes for the wrong reasons, without adequate discernment or preparation, leading to unfulfilled lives.

On the other hand, there is also the perception that the single life vocation is only limited to the “never married,” whilst overlooking the widowed, single parents, separated, or divorced.

According to the Pew Research Centre, among Catholics who have ever been married, roughly 34 percent have experienced a divorce or annulment.--ucanews.com