Pope Francis received seminarians from the Major Seminary on 3 August from the congregation of “Our Lady of the Apostles” in Getafe, Spain, at the Vatican. He pointed out what God and the Catholic Church expect of priests and recalled “four fundamental aspects” of their formation.
The Holy Father received the seminarians in the audience at around 8:00 am (local time), who arrived accompanied by the Bishop of Getafe, Monsignor Ginés García Beltrán, and his Auxiliary Bishop, Monsignor José María Avendaño. They were joined by the rector and the seminary trainers, where more than 30 young people are currently being trained.
In a video message released on 2 August Bishop Ginés García Beltrán said that they arrived in Rome “with an open heart to listen to what the Pope wants to tell us, the recommendations that the Pope wants to give us, but above all to meet him and to be able to reiterate our filial adherence, to be able to reiterate our union with him and the need we have to work together with the entire Church.”
The seminarians, as the Holy Father pointed out at the beginning of today’s meeting, visited Rome on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the apostles Peter and Paul, as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Major Seminary “Our Lady of the Apostles.”
Although created in 1992, a year after the Diocese of Getafe was established—a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Madrid—the seminary moved in October 1994 to its current location on Cerro de los Ángeles, where the Monument to the Sacred Heart and the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles are also located.
The place, Pope Francis stressed today, is “traditionally considered the geographical centre of the Iberian Peninsula.”
The Holy Father recalled that St. John Mary Vianney, patron saint of priests whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates on August 4, “said that ‘if we understood well what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fear, but of love.’”
“Inspired by this thought of the holy Curé of Ars, in which we find summarized his life of complete consecration to God and to his parishioners, I would like to remind you, dear seminarians, that you too have received this call of love from the Lord, and with the help of your formators and many other people you are preparing to one day receive the gift of the priesthood.”
The Pope then pointed out that “this path of configuration with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is not without difficulties; therefore, every time I meet with seminarians I remind them that they must follow it taking care of four fundamental aspects, which are spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity.”
“It is essential that they do not lose sight of the harmonization that they must achieve in this fourfold reality, because the Lord and the Church expect priests to be, above all, men of integrity and generosity in their response to the vocation they have received, always available to listen and forgive, determined to live to the full their total dedication to God and to their brothers, with special predilection for those who suffer the most, the poor and the discarded,” he indicated.
At the end of his message to the seminarians, Pope Francis said that he asks “the Lord Jesus to make Him the center of your life for each one of you, to shape your hearts according to His, and to always keep you very close to His heart.”
“And to Our Lady of the Angels, may she watch over you and accompany you on your journey. Thank you very much,” he concluded.