Cultivate your relationship with Christ and entrust yourselves to Mary, Pope tells seminarians

September 03, 2026

Pope Leo XIV today encouraged seminarians from two Italian seminaries to cultivate their relationship with Christ in silent prayer and to entrust themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Saint Mark, in his Gospel, tells us that Jesus ‘went up into the hills, and called to him those whom He desired; and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve’—whom He called apostles—‘to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach’“ (Mk 3-13-14), Pope Leo said during the midday audience with seminarians from the Pius XI Pontifical Regional Seminary of Apulia in Molfetta and the Episcopal Seminary of Aversa.

The Pope commented:

These few words contain everything ... There is the mountain to climb, where we may encounter Christ and, above all, where we may be with Him. The heart of the seminary experience lies entirely here: learning to be with the Master, the Lord Jesus ...

Every vocation arises from an intimate dialogue with God, nurtured in silence and prayer, which often takes place despite the deafening noise of the world. That is where everything is decided, and for that dialogue to take place, we must learn to be with Him.

“The toil of spiritual life is, however, sustained by the beauty of brotherhood and the sharing of the mission. Indeed, on the mountain, Jesus does not call just one man, but twelve, with the most diverse and, at times, seemingly unlikely personalities, as it would seem to us,” Pope Leo continued. “The Lord gathers them together, keeping them side by side, so that they may learn that the Church is lived out together: she belongs to none of us individually, and we are all called to love and serve her as one body.”

The Pontiff added:

Then there remains the final step: that of coming down from the mountain, for the mountain is not a refuge. Jesus does not take the Twelve up high to keep them safe, but so that, having experienced God, they may be sent out to communicate this newness of life to the world.

You will therefore be called to come down from the mountain, to be sent to the people of your own lands: to those families struggling to make ends meet, to young people who, at the age of twenty, pack their bags in search of work, to the elderly living alone, to the marginalized, and to those who have lost sight of the meaning of life. The priest is sent to everyone so that he may proclaim to all the beauty of faith in Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation.

It is the salvation that has been given to us through Mary. Entrust yourselves to her, as to the one who was the first to do what is now asked of you. Ask Mary for the grace to learn to say your “yes” to the Lord Jesus every day.

Pope Leo thanked the seminarians for responding to the Lord’s call, and also thanked their families.

“A vocation never arises without a suitable environment, and it often needs a home, parents who pray and who know how to let go,” the Pope said. “To you, dear families, goes my gratitude and that of the whole Church.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Seminarians from the Pontifical Regional Seminary of Puglia ‘Pius XI’ in Molfetta and the Diocesan Seminary of Aversa (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 9/3/26)
• Audience with Seminarians of the “Pius XI” Pontifical Regional Seminary of Apulia in Molfetta, and of the Episcopal Seminary of Aversa (Holy See Press Office, 9/3/26)
• Pope Leo to seminarians: Learn to remain with Jesus (Vatican News, 9/3/26)