Pope: “What matters is not to be ordained, but to be truly priests”

As the Archdiocesan Major Seminary of San Carlos y San Marcelo in Trujillo, Peru, celebrates its 400th anniversary, Pope Leo XIV has written a heartfelt letter that blends gratitude, wisdom, and pastoral tenderness.

The future pope served at the seminary as a professor and academic director during his years in Peru.

Dated November 4, 2025, the message honors four centuries of priestly formation and invites seminarians to rediscover the joy and depth of their vocation.

Pope Leo recalls the countless young men who have passed through its classrooms and chapels, each seeking to respond to Christ’s call “to be with Him and to be sent out to preach” (Mk 3:14). Their mission, he reminds them, remains what it has always been: to stay close to the Lord, to know Him intimately, and to let Him shape their hearts.

The Holy Father warns against misunderstanding the priesthood as a career or refuge.

“The priesthood cannot be reduced to reaching ordination as if it were an external goal or an easy escape from personal challenges,” he writes. “It is not a refuge, nor a promotion, but a total gift of one’s life.”

His central line — “What matters is not to be ordained, but to be truly priests” — captures the spirit of his message: that priesthood is a lifelong transformation, not a title.

Drawing on St. Augustine, Leo writes, “One is truly free only when one is not a slave.” Only a free heart, he explains, can give itself completely to God’s people. When seen through worldly eyes, ministry can become a position or privilege, but in truth, it is born from the Lord’s choice — a sacred calling to reflect Christ’s compassion and fidelity.

The Pope emphasizes that formation must engage both prayer and study.

“Prayer and the search for truth are not parallel paths,” he insists, “but one single road that leads to the Master.”

Prayer without study becomes fragile emotion, and study without prayer turns sterile. Only when mind and heart grow together can faith become mature and fruitful.

He offers a line that could serve as a rule of life for any believer: “No one can speak of God who speaks little with God.” In prayer, the future priest learns to hear Christ’s voice and to be conformed to Him. Study, too, becomes a form of love — a way of serving God by seeking His truth.

Leo XIV does not shy away from modern challenges. He warns of “digital distraction that steals interiority,” the fatigue of constant activism, and the isolation of priests who live without community.

“A priest alone is vulnerable,” he cautions, urging seminarians to build true fraternity rooted in shared mission, obedience, and love.

He closes by reminding them that they never walk alone: “God, the saints, and the whole Church journey with you.” Quoting St. Toribio of Mogrovejo, patron of Trujillo, he writes: “Time is not ours; it is brief, and God will ask us how we have used it.”

In this jubilee year, Pope Leo XIV’s words invite a return to the fundamentals — to prayer, brotherhood, and a priesthood lived as a radiant act of love.