Vatican spokesman on upcoming 60th anniversary of Pope's priestly ordination

June 20, 2011

In his weekly editorial, the director of the Holy See Press Office recalled that June 29 is the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict’s priestly ordination and drew attention to the Congregation for the Clergy’s request to bishops’ conferences “to promote celebrations of thanksgiving as well as prayers, centered especially on Eucharistic adoration, for priestly vocations.”

“The life of Benedict XVI is truly a priestly life,” said Father Federico Lombardi. “He received his vocation when he was very young, his seminary training was interrupted only by the dramatic experience of the 2nd World War, and he was ordained when he was 24, along with his older brother and a large group of young people who had already proved their loyalty to God and the Church. Their examples were priests like the young Alojs Andrìtzki, who was killed at Dachau in 1943 at the age of 31, and who was beatified just a few days ago.”

Quoting Pope Benedict, Father Lombardi spoke of the “audacity of God who entrusts Himself to human beings--who, conscious of our weaknesses, nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in His stead--this audacity of God is the true grandeur concealed in the word ‘priesthood.’”

Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, had earlier called the request for worldwide Eucharistic adoration on June 29 “an exceptional opportunity to give thanks for our Holy Father, to pray for all of our priests, and to ask the Lord for more vocations to the priesthood.”

 

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Further information:

• Fr Lombardi’s weekly editorial: Priest for 60 years (Vatican Radio)
• Worldwide Eucharistic adoration in honor of Pope’s ordination anniversary (CWN, 5/27)