Pope Leo XIV emphasized that cultivating a personal friendship with Jesus Christ is essential for the happiness of priests and lay faithful alike.
Newsroom (25/07/2025, Gaudium Press ) On Friday, Pope Leo XIV welcomed formators from the Course for Seminary Formators at Rome’s Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum University and Xaverian Missionaries concluding their General Chapter, emphasizing that cultivating a personal friendship with Jesus Christ is essential for the happiness of priests and lay faithful alike.
Addressing the two groups, the Holy Father noted a unifying thread in their distinct gatherings: the call to mission and evangelization. “These are certainly two different events, yet we can see a common thread that unites them because, in different ways, we are called to enter into the dynamism of mission and to face the challenges of evangelization,” he said.
Formation for a Christ-Centered Life
Pope Leo stressed the need for “solid and integral” formation that transcends specialized knowledge, aiming to transform both humanity and spirituality to reflect the Gospel and embody the mind of Christ Jesus. Referencing the recent international gathering hosted by the Dicastery for the Clergy on the theme “Joyful Priests,” he extended the call for joy to all Christians, saying, “We can speak of happy Christians, happy disciples, and happy missionaries.”
The Pope underscored that a Christian’s life, whether priestly or lay, must be built on a “rock” of solid foundations to weather human and spiritual challenges. He offered three key suggestions to achieve this.
Cultivating Friendship with Jesus
First, Pope Leo emphasized the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ. “We need personally to experience the closeness of the Master, to know that we have been seen, loved, and chosen by the Lord by pure grace and without merit on our part,” he said. This friendship, he noted, radiates through one’s ministry, shaping attitudes, relationships, and the way the Gospel is proclaimed.
He urged continuous self-reflection and conversion, encouraging Christians to confront their “shadows and wounds” and abandon masks to foster an intimate connection with Christ. “In this way, we will allow ourselves to be transformed by the life of the Gospel and become authentic missionary disciples,” he said.
Living Fraternal Relationships
The Pope’s second suggestion was to cultivate “effective and affective fraternity” by overcoming individualism and competition. “We must work hard on ourselves in order to overcome the desire to overtake others, which makes us competitors,” he said, acknowledging that while the concept of fraternity is widely accepted, its practical realization remains a challenge.
Sharing the Mission with All Baptized
Finally, Pope Leo called for priests to share their mission with the entire People of God, rejecting notions of superiority or isolation. “Priests must also be trained in this, not to think of themselves as lone leaders,” he said. He advocated for priestly formation that involves the broader Church community—priests, laity, and consecrated individuals—and discerns the grace and charisms of Baptism in lay faithful.
A Call to Continue the Mission
Concluding his address, the Holy Father expressed gratitude for the attendees’ service in priestly formation and missionary work, particularly in regions “wounded and in need of the hope of the Gospel.” He encouraged them to persevere in their journeys, carrying forward the joy of the Gospel in their vocations.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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