Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II on Vocations -
"Rather, it is important to accomplish the communion of life which shows them how beautiful it is to be a priest. Only then, the young man will say, “Yes, this can be a future for me too; it is possible to live like this” (Insegnamenti I, [2005], 354). Referring to the witness that awakens vocations, the Second Vatican Council underlines the example of charity and of brotherly collaboration which priests must offer (cf. Decree Optatam totius, 2).
I like to remember what my venerable Predecessor John Paul II wrote: “The very life of priests, their unconditional dedication to God's flock, their witness of loving service to the Lord and to his Church - a witness marked by free acceptance of the cross in the spirit of hope and Easter joy - their fraternal unity and zeal for the evangelization of the world are the first and most convincing factor in the growth of vocations” (Pastores dabo vobis, 41). It can be said that priestly vocations are born of the example of priests, as a sort of a precious patrimony communicated by word, by example and by a whole way of life. "
