Pope Leo XIV Tells Priests "do not forget that you are not the source, but the channel" - "do not neglect confession"
TO THE PRESBYTERY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MADRID
ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESBYTERAL ASSEMBLY "CONVIVIUM"
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Dear children:
I am pleased to address you with this letter on the occasion of your Presbyteral Assembly, and I do so with a sincere desire for fraternity and unity. I thank your Archbishop and, from the bottom of my heart, each one of you for your willingness to meet as a presbytery, not only to discuss common matters, but also to support one another in the mission you share.
I value the commitment with which you live and exercise your priesthood in parishes, ministries, and diverse realities. I know that this ministry often unfolds amidst weariness, complex situations, and a silent dedication witnessed only by God. Precisely for this reason, I hope these words reach you as a gesture of closeness and encouragement, and that this encounter fosters an atmosphere of sincere listening, true communion, and trusting openness to the action of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to work in your lives and mission.
The times the Church is living through invite us to pause together for serene and honest reflection. Not so much to dwell on immediate diagnoses or emergency measures, but to learn to deeply understand the moment we are living in, recognizing, in the light of faith, both the challenges and the possibilities the Lord opens before us. On this path, it becomes increasingly necessary to cultivate our vision and practice discernment, so that we may perceive more clearly what God is already working, often silently and discreetly, in our midst and in our communities.
This reading of the present cannot disregard the cultural and social framework in which faith is lived and expressed today. In many circles, we observe advanced processes of secularization, a growing polarization in public discourse, and a tendency to reduce the complexity of the human person, interpreting it through ideologies or partial and insufficient categories. Within this framework, faith risks being instrumentalized, trivialized, or relegated to the realm of the irrelevant, while forms of coexistence that dispense with any transcendent reference become entrenched.
Added to this is a profound cultural shift that cannot be ignored: the progressive disappearance of shared points of reference. For a long time, the Christian seed found largely fertile ground, because moral language, the great questions about the meaning of life, and certain fundamental notions were, at least in part, shared. Today, that common ground has weakened considerably. Many of the conceptual assumptions that for centuries facilitated the transmission of the Christian message are no longer evident and, in many cases, even comprehensible. The Gospel encounters not only indifference, but also a different cultural landscape, in which words no longer carry the same meaning and where the initial proclamation can no longer be taken for granted.
However, this description does not fully capture what is really happening. I am convinced—and I know that many of you perceive this in the daily exercise of your ministry—that a new disquiet is stirring in the hearts of many people, especially young people. The absolute pursuit of well-being has not brought the expected happiness; freedom divorced from truth has not generated the promised fulfillment; and material progress alone has not managed to satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart.
Indeed, the dominant proposals, along with certain hermeneutical and philosophical interpretations of humanity's destiny, far from offering a sufficient answer, have often left a greater sense of weariness and emptiness. Precisely for this reason, we observe that many people are beginning to open themselves to a more honest and authentic search, a search that, accompanied by patience and respect, is leading them back to an encounter with Christ. This reminds us that for the priest, this is not a time for withdrawal or resignation, but for faithful presence and generous availability. All of this stems from the recognition that the initiative always belongs to the Lord, who is already at work and precedes us with his grace.
This is how the kind of priests Madrid —and the entire Church— needs in this time is becoming clearer . Certainly not men defined by a multitude of tasks or the pressure of results, but men configured to Christ, capable of sustaining their ministry through a living relationship with Him, nourished by the Eucharist and expressed in a pastoral charity marked by the sincere gift of self. It is not a matter of inventing new models or redefining the identity we have received, but of proposing anew, with renewed intensity, the priesthood in its most authentic core—being alter Christus —allowing Him to shape our lives, unify our hearts, and give form to a ministry lived from intimacy with God, faithful dedication to the Church, and concrete service to the people entrusted to us.
My dear children, allow me to speak to you today about the priesthood using an image you know well: your Cathedral. Not to describe a building, but to learn from it. For cathedrals—like any sacred place—exist, like the priesthood, to lead us to an encounter with God and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters, and their elements hold a lesson for our life and ministry.
By simply looking at its facade, we learn something essential. It is the first thing we see, and yet it doesn't say everything: it indicates, suggests, invites. Likewise, the priest does not live to show off, but neither does he live to hide. His life is called to be visible, coherent, and recognizable, even if it is not always understood. The facade does not exist for itself: it leads inward. Similarly, the priest is never an end in himself. His entire life is called to point to God and accompany the journey toward the Mystery, without usurping God's place.
Upon reaching the threshold, we understand that it is not fitting for everything to enter, for it is a sacred space. The threshold marks a passage, a necessary separation. Before entering, something remains outside. The priesthood, too, is lived in this way: being in the world, but not of the world (cf. Jn 17:14). At this crossroads lie celibacy, poverty, and obedience; not as a denial of life, but as the concrete means by which the priest can belong entirely to God while still walking among men.
The cathedral is also a common home, where everyone has a place. This is how the Church is called to be, especially toward her priests: a home that welcomes, protects, and never abandons. And this is how priestly fraternity must be lived: as the concrete experience of knowing oneself to be at home, responsible for one another, attentive to the lives of our brothers and sisters, and ready to support each other. My sons, no one should feel exposed or alone in the exercise of the ministry: resist together the individualism that impoverishes the heart and weakens the mission!
As we walk through the temple, we notice that everything rests on the columns that support the whole. The Church has seen in them the image of the Apostles (cf. Eph 2:20). Likewise, the priestly life does not stand on its own, but rather on the apostolic witness received and transmitted in the living Tradition of the Church, and safeguarded by the Magisterium (cf. 1 Cor 11:2; 2 Tim 1:13-14). When the priest remains anchored on this foundation, he avoids building on the sand of partial interpretations or circumstantial emphases, and instead rests on the firm rock that precedes and surpasses him (cf. Mt 7:24-27).
Before reaching the sanctuary, the cathedral reveals to us discreet yet fundamental places: at the baptismal font, the People of God are born; in the confessional, they are continually renewed. In the sacraments, grace is revealed as the most real and effective force of the priestly ministry. Therefore, dear children, celebrate the sacraments with dignity and faith, being aware that what is produced in them is the true power that builds up the Church and that they are the ultimate end to which all our ministry is ordered. But do not forget that you are not the source, but the channel, and that you too need to drink from that water. Therefore, do not neglect confession, always returning to the mercy you proclaim.
Several chapels open up around the central space. Each has its own history and dedication. Although different in style and composition, they all share the same orientation; none is turned inward, none disrupts the harmony of the whole. This is also true in the Church with the various charisms and spiritualities through which the Lord enriches and sustains your vocation. Each one receives a particular way of expressing faith and nurturing inner life, but all remain oriented toward the same center.
Let us look to the heart of it all, my children: here is revealed what gives meaning to what you do each day and from where your ministry springs. On the altar, through your hands, the sacrifice of Christ is made present in the highest action entrusted to human hands; in the tabernacle, He whom you have offered remains, entrusted anew to your care. Be worshippers, people of deep prayer, and teach your people to do the same.
At the end of this journey, to be the priests the Church needs today, I leave you with the same advice of your holy compatriot, Saint John of Ávila: “Be all his” ( Sermon 57). Be holy! I entrust you to Our Lady of Almudena and, with a heart full of gratitude, I impart to you the Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to all those entrusted to your pastoral care.
Vatican City, January 28, 2026. Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church.
LEÓN PP. XIV
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