Pope on seminarians’ jubilee: Become happy people and priests

The Pope thanked the seminarians for their joy and enthusiasm, which fuel “the flame of hope in the life of the Church.”

He congratulated them for “letting themselves be drawn into the fascinating adventure of the priestly vocation during a difficult time.”

“Don't be afraid!” he said in Spanish to the seminarians, who applauded. He explained that human frailties must be taken into account in the formation of future priests in order to prepare them for a fruitful and happy priesthood.

“Nothing in you should be rejected,” Leo XIV emphasized, urging the seminarians to “become happy people and priests -- ‘bridges’ and not obstacles to the encounter with Christ for all those who approach you.”

Jesus “must grow and we must diminish, so that we may be shepherds according to his Heart,” insisted Leo XIV, drawing on Pope Francis' encyclical Dilexit nos, on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Recalling the importance of the heart, he stressed that the seminary should be “a school of affections,” in order to “learn to love, and to do so as Jesus did.”

“Remember well St. Augustine's invitation to return to the heart, for it is there that we find the traces of God,” Leo XIV asked.

He emphasized that “descending into one's heart can be frightening, because there we also find wounds.”

In line with Pope Francis' letter on the importance of literature in formation published last summer, Leo XIV urged seminarians to “perceive the presence of God even through the voices of nature, art, poetry, literature, and music, as well as the human sciences.”

The Pope also urged seminarians to “listen to the often silent cry of the little ones, the poor and the oppressed, and of so many young people searching for meaning in their lives.”

“Have a heart that is gentle and humble like that of Jesus,” asked Leo XIV, stressing that it is “important — or rather necessary — from the time of the seminary, to aim for human maturity, rejecting all masks and hypocrisy.”

He also asked the seminarians to cultivate “the art of discernment,” which should lead to “gathering the fragments” of life even when the heart is “cluttered” or “confused.”

The seminarians then renewed their profession of faith with the Pope by reciting the Creed in Latin.

Leo XIV then took the time to greet certain groups amid joyful hubbub. The program for the Jubilee of Seminarians continued in the week with Masses celebrated in different languages in various churches in Rome.