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Celebrating a Year for Priests Print E-mail
By The Catholic Spirit   
Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Church kicks off special observance on June 19


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• Why a special Year for Priests?


Pope Benedict XVI declared a year of the priest in an effort to encourage “spiritual perfection” in priests.

The pope will open the special year with a vespers service at the Vatican June 19 — the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day of prayer for the sanctification of priests. He will close the celebrations during a World Meeting of Priests in St. Peter’s Square June 19, 2010.

During this jubilee year, the pope will also proclaim St. John Vianney to be patron saint of all the world’s priests. At present he is considered the patron saint of parish priests.

8 ways to honor your priest


1. Shake his hand after Mass and thank him for his vocation.

2. Offer to help him with a job or task around the parish.

3. Invite him over to bless your house. Have him stay for dinner or a family picnic.

4. Remember him with a prayer bouquet.

5. Send him a card at Christmas and on his birthday.

6. Mow his lawn or offer to do other yard work.

7. Have your children color him a picture or write him a letter.

8. Ask him individually what someone could do to honor his vocation.
— The Catholic Spirit

• Why St. John Vianney?


This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of this 19th-century saint who represents a “true example of a priest at the service of the flock of Christ,” the pope said.

St. John Vianney is widely known to Catholics as the Cure (parish priest) of Ars who won over the hearts of his villagers in France by visiting with them, teaching them about God and reconciling people to the Lord in the confessional.

• What did the pope say in declaring this jubilee year?


Pope Benedict said the priestly ministry consists of total adherence to the ecclesial tradition of participating “in a spiritually intense new life and a new lifestyle which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and which the apostles made their own.”

Priestly ordination creates new men who are bestowed with the gift and office of sanctifying, teaching and governing, he said.

The pope underlined the necessary and “indispensable struggle for moral perfection which must dwell in every authentically priestly heart.”

He said he was calling for the special Year for Priests in an effort to foster the priests’ yearning “for spiritual perfection, upon which the effectiveness of their ministry principally depends.”

The year should help priests “rediscover the grace and the goal of priestly ministry,” he said.

“It is a service to the church and to the Christian people that requires a deep spirituality,” the pope said, because only by being united with the Lord can priests minister effectively through their preaching, their celebration of the sacraments and their assistance to the poor.

The year also will recognize the variety of pastoral work performed by priests and the witness of their lives

Do you know a special priest?


Do you know a special priest who has made a significant impact on your life or the life of others?

Is so, The Catholic Spirit would like to hear from you.

Tell us briefly about the priest and why he is special. We’ll publish all the responses in a special tribute section online at and a selection in a future issue of the print edition of the newspaper.

We’ll also enter your name into a drawing for four tickets to a Minnesota Twins game and four tickets to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for an opportunity to show your appreciation by treating your special priest to an outing of fun.

You can send your responses in one of two ways:

• By e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Please write “Year for Priests” in the subject line.

• By postal mail to: “Year for Priests,” c/o The Catholic Spirit, 244 Dayton Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

Please include your name, address, parish affiliation and daytime telephone number.

Deadline for submissions is July 6.

• It’s not just about pies and smiles


Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, said each and every one of the world’s 408,000 priests should feel loved, respected, valued and supported in his vocation to bring the Gospel to an increasingly secular world.

“We must say to priests that we are proud of them and that we recognize they are a group that is very special for the church and society,” the cardinal said. “We must recognize who they are and what they do and tell them that we love them and want to be alongside them to support them.”

But the celebration should be about more than a yearlong commitment to baking pies for priests or smiling at them more than usual.

He said that showing support for priests includes sharing responsibility with them for parish life and for mission.

“Sometimes laypeople help their priests, but think that if things don’t go well, it’s the priest’s responsibility — it’s his church. But, no, the church is all of ours,” the cardinal said.


• New Web site launched


The U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations has set up a Web site to mark the Year for Priests at www.usccb.org/yearforpriests.

The site includes the pope’s message for the occasion and the announcement of a plenary indulgence in conjunction with the celebration. The site also offers specially commissioned prayers for priests and laity. The pope’s messages and the prayers are available in English and Spanish.

Throughout the year, the secretariat also will use the site to publish monthly articles about the priesthood written by prominent Catholic women.

Other activities in the Year for Priests include a retreat on the national level and a gathering of priests in Rome for the celebration’s culmination. Further details about the national retreat will be available on the site.

— Information compiled from Cath­o­lic News Service stories.

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