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Image: Christ’s Charge to Peter by Raphael, 1515. In telling Peter to feed his sheep,
Christ appointed him as a pastor.
Letter of Pope Francis to parish priests/pastors
Dear Brother Priests,
The International Meeting “Parish Priests/pastors for the Synod”, and the dialogue with all of you who have taken part in it give me the opportunity to pray for pastors throughout the world.
To all of you, I address these words with great affection.
They are so obvious as to sound almost banal, but that does not make them less true: the Church could not continue without your dedication and your pastoral service.
First of all, therefore, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the generous work that you do every day, sowing the seeds of the Gospel in every kind of soil (see Mk 4:1-25 in footnote below)-
As you have experienced during these days of sharing, the parishes in which you carry out your ministry vary greatly, from those on the outskirts of large cities – as I know personally from Buenos Aires – to those in sparsely populated areas that are the size of vast provinces.
They range from those in the city centers in many European countries, where ancient basilicas house dwindling and ageing communities, to those where celebrations are held under the branches of large trees and the songs of birds mingle with the voices of small children.
Pastors are well aware of this, because they know the joys and the hardships, the resources and the needs of the People of God. This is why a synodal Church needs its parish priests/pastors.
Without priests, we will never be able to learn how to walk together and to set out on the path of synodality, “the path which God expects of the Church of the third millennium”. [1]
We will never become a synodal and missionary Church unless parish communities are characterised by the participation of all the baptised in the one mission of proclaiming the Gospel.
If the parishes are not synodal and missionary, the Church will not be either.
The Synthesis Report of the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is very clear in this regard.
Parishes, beginning with their structures and the organization of parish life, are called to see themselves “primarily as a service to the mission of the faithful in society, in family life and at work, without concentrating exclusively on their own activities and organizational needs” (8.1).
Increasingly, parish communities must become places from which the baptised go out as missionary disciples and to which they return with joy to proclaim the wonders that the Lord has worked through their witness (cf. Lk 10:17 –The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”).
As Pastors, we are called to accompany the communities we serve in this process, while at the same time committing ourselves with prayer, discernment and apostolic zeal to ensure that our ministry responds to the needs of a synodal and missionary Church.
This challenge is addressed to the Pope, the Bishops and the Roman Curia, and also to you, as parish priests. The Lord, who has called and consecrated us, asks us today to listen to the voice of his Spirit and to move forward in the direction he indicates. Of one thing we can be sure: he will never leave us without his grace. Along the way, we will discover how to set our ministry free from the things that wear us down and rediscover its most authentic core, the proclamation of God’s Word and the gathering of the community to break bread.
I encourage you, then, to accept this, the Lord’s call to be, as parish priests/pastors, builders of a synodal and missionary Church and to dedicate yourselves enthusiastically to achieving this goal.
To this end, I would like to make three suggestions which may help to inspire your lifestyle and your pastoral activity.
1, I ask you first of all to live out your specific ministerial charism in ever greater service to the various gifts which the Spirit sows in the People of God.
There is an urgent need to “discover with faith, the many and varied charismatic gifts of the lay faithful, whether in a humble or more exalted form” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9), which are indispensable for evangelisation in a wide variety of human situations and contexts.
I am convinced that in this way you will bring to light many hidden treasures and feel less alone in the demanding task of evangelization. You will experience the joy of being true fathers, who do not dominate others but rather bring out in them, men and women alike, great and precious possibilities.
2. With all my heart, I suggest that you learn to practice the art of communal discernment, using for this purpose the method of “conversation in the Spirit”, which has proved so helpful during the synodal journey and in the proceedings of the Synodal Assembly itself.
I am sure that you will reap many good fruits from it, not only in structures of communion such as parish councils, but in many other fields as well.
As the Synthesis Report makes clear, discernment is a key element in the pastoral activity of a synodal Church: “It is important that the practice of discernment also be exercised in pastoral settings, in a way adapted to different contexts, in order to shed light on the concreteness of ecclesial life. This will contribute to a better recognition of the charisms present in the community, to a wise distribution of the various responsibilities and ministries, and to the planning, in the light of the Spirit, of pastoral projects that go beyond the mere programming of activities”” (2.1).
3. Finally, I would like to urge you to carry out all your activities in a spirit of sharing and fraternity among yourselves and with your bishops.
This was a strong message from the International Conference for the Permanent Formation of Priests, on the theme, “”Set on fire the gift of God which you have” (2 Tim 1:6), which took place here in Rome last February, with the participation of more than 800 bishops, priests, lay and consecrated men and women involved in this field, representing some 18 countries.
We cannot be authentic fathers if we are not first sons and brothers.
And we cannot promote communion and participation in the communities entrusted to us if we do not first of all live these realities among ourselves.
I am well aware that, in the midst of the constant call of our pastoral responsibilities, this commitment may seem burdensome, even a waste of time, but the opposite is true: indeed, only in this way will we be credible and our activity not end up scattering what others have already gathered.
It is not only the synodal and missionary Church that needs parish priests/pastors, but also the ongoing process of the 2021-2024 Synod, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission”, as we look forward to the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in the coming month of October.
In order to prepare for it, we need to hear your voice.
For this reason, I invite those who have participated in the International Meeting “Parish Priests/pastors for the Synod” to be missionaries of synodality, among yourselves and, once you return home, with your fellow parish priests/pastors.
I ask you to promote, with a synodal and missionary spirit, reflection on the renewal of the ministry of Pastors and to enable the General Secretariat of the Synod to gather your distinctive contributions for the preparation of the Instrumentum Laboris.
The purpose of the present International Meeting was to listen to parish priests/pastors, but that cannot end today: we must continue to hear from you.
Dear brothers, I am at your side in this process, in which I myself am taking part.
I cordially bless you all, and in turn, in return I need to feel your closeness and the support of your prayers. Let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary Hodegetria, Our Lady of the Way. She shows us the way; she leads us to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
FRANCIS, Saint John Lateran, Rome, 2 May 2024
Footnote Mk 4:1-25 – Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” . . 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]” 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”).
