Catholic Toy Company Introduces Dolls to Inspire Vocations

Dec. 4, 2009 - PRLog -- FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Ashley Walker 404-791-9725 or awalker@maximusmg.com
Christine Schicker 404-610-8871 or cschicker@maximusmg.com

Wee Believers® Releases Vocation Dolls™ to Enrich Early Childhood Play

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– What inspires a vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life?  How does a child or a young person recognize that he or she is “called”? In this year’s Address on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Benedict reflected that, “In the universal call to holiness, of particular relevance is God’s initiative of choosing some to follow his Son Jesus Christ more closely, and to be his privileged ministers and witnesses.”  He also says that our “first duty” is to keep this “divine initiative alive in families and parishes.”

With a strong desire to enkindle the fire of faith and foster vocations within families, Wee Believers®, an authentically Catholic toy company, introduces Vocation Dolls™ - plush, huggable 13-inch dolls that are designed to give little boys and little girls an inside look into the lives of real priests and Religious Sisters.

Wee Believers® has developed an entire line of characters which center around a Catholic family of dolls who reside in an animated town named Mercyville. In this town, Fr. Juan Pablo is the parish priest and Sr. Mary Clara is a consecrated Religious Sister who serves as a sacristan and teaches in the parish school. As the toy line develops through new product releases, children will be able to interact with the characters through a variety of mediums including online games and activities, additional soft-sculpture manipulatives and animated videos.

Each Wee Believers® product is accompanied by a signature companion booklet, written to compliment the particular toy with relevant and educational material.  The Sr. Mary Clara and Fr. Juan Pablo dolls, sold separately, are accompanied by a booklet featuring the real-life vocation stories of five priests and five Religious Sisters.

“Our hope is that by playing with the Vocation Dolls™, children will grow in virtue with a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith,” says Steve Abdalla, co-founder of Wee Believers®. “We pray that the Holy Spirit will use these dolls to call more men and women to the consecrated religious life.”

Often times a child’s vocation is inspired by what captures their attention in early childhood. Children who play with fire trucks might aspire to be firefighters; children who play with rocket ships might aim to become astronauts; children who play with toy mass kits and dolls which represent the consecrated life may have their hearts opened to God’s call to become a priest or a Religious Sister.

Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, recently shared how a toy mass kit he was given as a young boy first inspired him to the priesthood. Upon seeing the Vocation Dolls™, the Archbishop said, "It is my hope and prayer that the Wee Believers® Vocation Dolls™, together with the companion booklets, will help young children to recognize the beauty of the vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life in the Church."

In June, Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated this year as the “Year for Priests,” calling all Catholics to unite in continuous trust and diligent prayer for vocations. The Holy Father sees the necessity when it comes to increasing vocations in order for the Church to thrive around the world.

The founders created the Vocation Dolls™ in hopes of exposing children to toys that reflect the nature of consecrated life and introduce them to the possibility of a religious calling in early childhood. The Vocation Dolls™ are also meant to open new lines of communication regarding religious life between parents and children. All Wee Believers® products are thoroughly safety tested; CPSIA certified, constructed of high-quality materials and designed to last and to be cherished.

Steve and Joni Abdalla are available for interviews. Please contact Ashley Walker at 678-990-9032 or Christine Schicker at 404-610-8871, both with The Maximus Group.