Pope Leo XIV Ordains Several New Priests During Ordination Mass at St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City, 31 May, 2025 — Pope Leo XIV ordained several new priests during a solemn Mass held at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, urging them to live lives of transparency, credibility, and deep union with Christ as they begin their sacred ministry among the people of God. 

In his homily, the Pope highlighted the relationship between the people of God and the priestly identity of the newly ordained, which he said will grow to make them fully a part of the people to whom they are sent.

He urged the new priests to always keep in mind “that a priest’s identity is rooted in union with Christ, the eternal and high priest.

”Priestly ordination, he added, shows that God has never abandoned His people. “God’s joy is not loud,” he said, “but it truly changes history and draws us closer to one another.”

Pope Leo invited all priests to model their lives after Jesus by binding themselves to the real world since the people they serve “are flesh and blood”.

“Consecrate yourselves to them—without separating, isolating, or turning the gift you’ve received into a privilege,” he said. “Pope Francis often warned us about this because self-centredness extinguishes the fire of the missionary spirit.”

Pope Leo XIV noted that the Church is outward-looking by her very nature, reflecting Jesus’ own life, passion, death, and resurrection, which is made present at every Mass they will celebrate. “The Kingdom of God”, he said, “now unites your personal freedoms, ready to go beyond themselves, grafting your minds and youthful strength into the jubilee mission Jesus entrusted to His Church.”

Looking to St. Paul’s ministry, the Pope said priestly ministry is one of stewards, not overlords, since the “mission belongs to Jesus” and no one is called to replace Him. As they become priests, they are invited to make room “for the faithful and for every creature in whom the Risen One draws near and loves to surprise us.”

Pope Leo then emphasised St. Paul’s words to the community of Ephesus: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you.” Ours, he said, should be “a life that is transparent, visible, credible! We live among the people of God so that we may stand before them with a credible witness.”

Only together can Christians rebuild the credibility of “a wounded Church, sent to a wounded humanity, within a wounded creation”, he said.

The Pope pointed to the Risen Christ’s wounds, which are both a sign of humanity’s rejection and a sign of God’s forgiveness and missionary mandate to the Church. Christ’s love, he said, “is a love that frees and enables us not to possess anyone. To liberate, not to possess.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited all the faithful present at the Mass to gratefully sustain these new priests in their ministry. “Together, we unite heaven and earth,” he said. “In Mary, Mother of the Church, this common priesthood shines—lifting up the lowly, linking generations, and allowing us to be called blessed.”

By Devin Watkins

Courtesy: Vatican News