Pope Leo XIV Tells Priests "root your life and ministry in an ever stronger, personal and authentic love for Jesus" FULL TEXT
For the occasion of their priestly jubilee, the bishops and priests of the Ecclesiastical Province of Paris received a message from Pope Leon XIV on Thursday, which was read during Mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral. In his message, Pope Leo XIV recalled the 60th anniversary of the Presbyterorum Ordinis decree, upon which the priests of the eight dioceses of the Île-de-France region were reflecting during their jubilee celebration.
MESSAGE OF POPE LEO XIV
TO THE PRIESTS GATHERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE JUBILEE OF THE PRIESTS
OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF PARIS
[June 5, 2025]
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I fraternally greet His Excellency Bishop Laurent Ulrich and all the bishops of the Province of Paris. And I greet all of you, dear priests who are gathered in this Notre-Dame Cathedral on the occasion of your “Jubilee of Priests” and the 60th anniversary of the Constitution Presbyterorum Ordinis, on which you will reflect.
I am pleased to be able to express my fatherly affection and to convey my best encouragement to you as you continue your ministry in the service of the People of God entrusted to you. To achieve this in the difficult - and often trying - ecclesial and social conditions you are experiencing, I invite you to root your life and ministry in an ever stronger, personal and authentic love for Jesus, who made you his friends and configured you to him for eternity; and in a generous and unreserved love for your Communities, a love marked by closeness, compassion, gentleness, humility and simplicity, as the late Pope Francis so often recalled. In this way, you will be credible even if you are not yet saints, and you will touch the hearts of people who are far away, gain their trust and introduce them to Jesus. I invite you to cultivate priestly fraternity among yourselves, to maintain a close bond of charity with your bishops, and to pray unceasingly for the unity of the Church. May the Holy Spirit help you to renew each day the generous gift you made of yourselves to the Lord on the day of your ordination.
Imploring upon each of you the protection of Our Lady, and the intercession of all the holy priests and bishops of Paris who have preceded you, I wholeheartedly grant you the Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, June 4, 2025
Leo PP. XIV
Source: Vatican.va
TO THE PRIESTS GATHERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE JUBILEE OF THE PRIESTS
OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF PARIS
[June 5, 2025]
______________
I fraternally greet His Excellency Bishop Laurent Ulrich and all the bishops of the Province of Paris. And I greet all of you, dear priests who are gathered in this Notre-Dame Cathedral on the occasion of your “Jubilee of Priests” and the 60th anniversary of the Constitution Presbyterorum Ordinis, on which you will reflect.
I am pleased to be able to express my fatherly affection and to convey my best encouragement to you as you continue your ministry in the service of the People of God entrusted to you. To achieve this in the difficult - and often trying - ecclesial and social conditions you are experiencing, I invite you to root your life and ministry in an ever stronger, personal and authentic love for Jesus, who made you his friends and configured you to him for eternity; and in a generous and unreserved love for your Communities, a love marked by closeness, compassion, gentleness, humility and simplicity, as the late Pope Francis so often recalled. In this way, you will be credible even if you are not yet saints, and you will touch the hearts of people who are far away, gain their trust and introduce them to Jesus. I invite you to cultivate priestly fraternity among yourselves, to maintain a close bond of charity with your bishops, and to pray unceasingly for the unity of the Church. May the Holy Spirit help you to renew each day the generous gift you made of yourselves to the Lord on the day of your ordination.
Imploring upon each of you the protection of Our Lady, and the intercession of all the holy priests and bishops of Paris who have preceded you, I wholeheartedly grant you the Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, June 4, 2025
Leo PP. XIV
Source: Vatican.va
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