To the Seminarians, Aparecida (4 July 1980)

On 4 July 1980, the Holy Father addressed the seminarians at the Basilica of Aparecida, reminding them that God's invitation to the priesthood required their cooperation, as required of Mary that she become the Mother of God. 

My dear seminarians,

1. Finding myself with you on the occasion of my pilgrimage to Aparecida, my memory spontaneously takes me back to my seminary and to the time of my formation for the priesthood. I am not ashamed to say that I miss those years of seminary. I pay a moving tribute to the good priests who with so much zeal, amid many difficulties, prepared me to become a priest.

They were decisive years for the ministry that the Lord reserved for me for the future. Because this meeting, in the shadow of the sanctuary of Our Lady Aparecida, in this atmosphere of cordiality, communion and lively hope, moves me and gives me joy. It doesn't take many words to tell you my great affection and my sincere desire to encourage your holy aspirations, your certainties and your resolutions. You occupy a very special place in the heart of the Pope as well as in the heart of the Church. In you I intend to greet the aspirants to the priesthood from all over Brazil.

2. Seeing you around me today, as I have already seen so many seminarians in Mexico, Ireland and the United States, my thoughts enlightened by faith turn, I would say almost imperceptibly, to the visible and at the same time mysterious reality of the Church of God. Jesus Christ , eternal Shepherd, who brought to the world the Gospel of reconciliation between God and men, constituted the people of the new covenant.

In order for this people not to lack guides and shepherds, he sent the apostles, as he himself had been sent by the Father. Through the apostles, Jesus Christ, "head of the body, that is, of the Church" (Col 1:18), made their successors, the Bishops, participants in his consecration and mission, who, in turn, shared and entrusted the functions of his ministry in the first place to priests. These, united to the Bishops in priestly dignity, are consecrated with the sacrament of orders to proclaim the Gospel, guide the People of God, celebrate the liturgy, as true priests of the New Testament (Lumen Gentium, 18.28 ) .

As we bow reverently before this plan of God's will, which thus constituted his Church, the work of his hands and not the invention of men, we understand ever better than in it, how there can be no pastors without people, so there can be no people without shepherds. Certainly the continuity of the apostolic mission was guaranteed by the one who founded the Church: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:19ff). . To translate this perennial mandate into reality, Jesus Christ himself continues to call his collaborators in the depths of their consciences, while the pastors of the Church recognize the legitimacy of this internal vocation, with the public vocation to sacred orders.

3. However, the divine call - like the one addressed to Mary by the Archangel at the Annunciation - respectfully pauses in anticipation of the response of free and thoughtful consent: "Let it be done to me as you have said" (Lk 1:38). The personal call, therefore, must be enlightened so that the Lord's voice does not go unnoticed and ignored; it must be encouraged and protected, so that free response is not impeded by inner hesitations or stifled by the difficulties of the world. Thus, in this reality and in this mystery of divine election, the responsibility of your cooperation is inserted, and at the same time the discreet work of those who have the task of assisting and helping you in your formation work.

4. The invitation addressed to you, my dear seminarians, is truly sublime, being directed to the most essential service of the People of God. The priest, in fact, makes Christ, the savior of all mankind, sacramentally present among the brethren. "He - as the document of the Synod of Bishops on the ministerial priesthood affirms - is the guarantor both of the first proclamation of the Gospel, which gathers the Church, and of the tireless renewal of the Church already gathered" (Synodi Episcoporum, De Sacerdotio Ministeriali). Were the presence and action of that ministry which is received through the imposition of hands to be absent, the Church would be deprived of the full certainty of her fidelity and of her visible continuity. Proclaiming the Gospel, leading the community, forgiving sins and above all celebrating the Eucharist, the priest makes Christ-head present in the living exercise of his work of redemption. He acts "in persona Christi", he takes the place of Christ, who instills and existentially renews the life of the Spirit in souls.

5. You prepare for this mission and function in the seminary. Therefore I urge you to consider all the importance of the period you are living. It is important for doctrinal formation, so that you are true teachers of the truth and educators of the People of God in the faith. It is especially important for human and spiritual formation. The "man of God" that you must be (cf. 1Tm 6,11) is either formed during this seminary period or will never be again. It is in the seminary that one learns to live the typical virtues of the priest. May this once vain but fruitful time not be for you.

Faced with the greatness of the priestly vocation, an irreplaceable vocation which deeply engages those who receive it, I invite you to become aware of the predilection it signifies on the part of Jesus. Let us raise our hopeful prayer to the "Lord of the harvest", because in this immense Brazil many young people have an open conscience to perceive, availability to welcome, enthusiasm to follow the friendly call that he addresses to them.

6. In the last six years, fifteen new major seminaries of secular and regular clergy were opened in Brazil; five major and four minor seminaries last year alone. This increase in the number of vocations is a comforting phenomenon, fruit of the grace and generous correspondence of those called. But the reality is that there is hardly one priest for every 20,000 inhabitants, if only secular priests are considered; one per 10,000, if religious priests are also considered. Certainly it is still too little for the enormous and urgent needs of the faithful. Therefore it is everyone's duty to pray fervently and perseveringly to the Lord of all gifts.

I entrust each one of you and all the young people of this dear Brazil called to the priesthood to Our Lady Aparecida. As I ask the Mother of the Church to encourage and strengthen you in the witness of a joyful, coherent and generous response, I wholeheartedly give you the Apostolic Blessing.

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Publishing House