Appointed a priest on 13 December 1969, the future Roman Pontiff discovered his profession sixteen years ago, on September 21, 1953, at the feast of St. Matthew.
Contributed by Vatican News Service
Fifty-one years ago today, December 13, 1969; A few days before his thirty-third birthday, Jorge Mario Percoglio was ordained to the Holy See.
Eleven years ago, on March 11, 1958, he entered the new organization of the Jesus Society, where, within four years of his appointment, he began his permanent career on April 22, 1973.
Experience encountered.
The future pope discovered his profession on September 21, 1953 – the liturgy of St. Matthew. That day, 17-year-old Jorge Bergoglio felt the need to go past the church he usually attends in Buenos Aires and go to confession. He found a priest he did not know, and that confession changed his life.
“For me it was a meeting experience,” Pope Francis later described. Speaking at the Pentecostal Vigil on May 18, 2013, the Pope said of a long visit to the church, “I saw someone waiting for me. Yet I do not know what happened, I do not remember, I do not know why that particular priest was there who I do not know, or why I felt this desire to confess, but the truth is that someone is waiting for me. He had been waiting for me for some time. After my confession I felt that something had changed. I am not the same. I heard something like a voice or a call. I firmly believed that I should become a priest. ”
Stamps were issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the priesthood of Pope Francis last year
George Bergoglio experienced the loving presence of God in his life, felt his heart touched, felt the expression of God’s grace, which invited him to religious life with the appearance of gentle love, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It was this chapter of his life that inspired his Episcopal, then Papal, goal choice ”Miserando atque qualendo, ”St. Bat the Venerable (Hom. 21; CCL 122, 149-151), commenting on the Business Gospel episode of Homeless of St. Matthew, he writes: miserando atque qualendo vidit, ait illi sequere me ”(Jesus saw the tax being collected, because She looked at him with compassionate eyes and chose him, He said to him: Follow me).
Priests at the heart of the Pope
Pope Francis often addresses priests in his honor and speeches. This year, in particular, he mentions his commitment to the faithful who have been tried by the current epidemic and health emergency.
When Christmas Mass was postponed this year due to Govt-19 restrictions, Pope Francis wrote Letter To the priests of Rome. “The Pope addressed the pastors of God’s people with love [their] With their own hands the pain of the people, ”he said, staying close to them, sharing with them and reassuring them on the journey. “As a community of priests, Pope Francis wrote, ‘We are not new to these circumstances; We did not see them from a window. You dared the hurricane and found ways to be and come with your communities; When you see the wolf coming, you do not flee or abandon the flock. ”
The Holy Father asked the priests to be wise, far-sighted, and steadfast; Looking to the future, he wrote about the challenge for priests, “Develop the ability to listen in a calm, determined, diligent, yet fearless way, filled with attention and more confidence.” He concludes his letter by saying, “As priests, sons and members of a priestly people, it is ours to accept responsibility for the future and to plan for it as brothers.”
The apostolic spirit of the priests
Then, while speaking Physicians, nurses and health workers from the Lombardy region In France, Pope Francis recalled “pastoral zeal and constructive care” that he “helped the people to continue the journey of faith and not be alone in the face of pain and fear.”
“I admire the apostolic attitude of many priests, who reached out to people by phone, or knocked on doors, and called to homes: ‘Do you need anything? I’ll do your shopping …’. A thousand things,” said the Pope. ” These priests were standing: they were a sign of God’s comforting presence. “He then added:” Sadly some of them have died, including doctors and paramedics. ” He thanked all the Italian clergy for their courage and love. “