This Sunday Pope Leo XIV will ordain 8 new Priests

 

FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo to ordain 8 new priests on Sunday April 26  (@Vatican Media)

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• Pope Leo XIV
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Pope Leo to ordain 8 priests in St. Peter's Basilica

The Pope will preside over the Mass with the priestly ordinations on Sunday, April 26, which is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Two days earlier, there will be a prayer vigil at St. John Lateran.

Vatican News

Eight men will be ordained to the priesthood on Sunday morning, April 26, in a Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Basilica.  

Among the future priests is Christian Sguazzino, who grew up attending the parish Church of San Giovanni della Croce (St. John of the Cross), where he also enjoyed playing soccer. “Even then,” he recalls, “I liked being in church, looking at the altar and the tabernacle.” Seeing priests who were happy in their vocation had an important influence on his discernment.

Stories of the future priests

Giovanni Emanuele Nunziante, 32, also felt a desire to be close to God as a child. “I used to think about becoming a friar,” he says.

However, life took other directions for the Rome-born man who also lived in England. While listening to the Gospel of the Good Shepherd back in 2016, he felt called to become "a father, generating others to the new life of faith."

On the other hand, Jos Emmanuel Nleme Sabate was not Catholic. His family, originally from Cameroon, was Protestant. At 11, he was sent to study at the Minor Seminary of his home diocese.

It was there that he encountered Catholicism, and he was baptized at the age of 12. “During that rite, which I wasn’t familiar with,” he recalls, “I believe my choice to become a priest grew.” This call grew through his experience at Casa Betania, a family home, where his attention to disability deepened—a “vocation within a vocation.” Today, Sabate is studying sign language.

For Yordan Camilo Medina from Colombia, his priest uncle was a role model. Since childhood, he saw the joy in others as they received the Eucharist, and he chose this path of happiness.

In the Neocatechumenal Way, 27-year-old Antonino Ordine’s vocation flourished. In his hometown of Praia a Mare in Calabria, he had been studying medicine when this question came to mind: “Do I really want this?”

“I can say,” he admits, “that the Lord has made my life much more beautiful than I ever imagined. Whether here in the Diocese of Rome, in many parishes, or during some missions in Latin America, the Middle East, and India, I have understood that it is beautiful to serve the Church.”

Daniele Riscica was once considered “a new promise of international piano.” Yet, after attending the Conservatory in Frosinone, Italy and completing his classical music studies, at 24, he felt the Lord was calling him to something else. He had performed in Brazil, China, and Mozambique, but left it all behind to enter the seminary.

Giorgio Larosa, 30, from Italy, was inspired in his vocation through the example of “lay people and priests.” Through their witness, he saw “the power of the Gospel.” Guglielmo Lapenna, 35, from Pescara, had a job in a liquor factory. “During World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016, I decided to leave what I was doing and enter the seminary.” A decision that changed and enriched his life.

A prayer vigil for vocations

On Friday evening, April 24, the eight men will gather at St. John Lateran Basilica for a prayer vigil for vocations, themed “The Inner Discovery of God’s Gift.” This theme echoes Pope Leo’s message, which carries the same title, published in March for the 53rd World Prayer Day for Vocations, which falls on April 26, the fourth Sunday of Easter.

Although the Pope will not be present at the Vigil, a communication from the Congregation for the Clergy shared his “fatherly closeness” to the initiative, which he spiritually accompanies, seeing it as “a living sign of communion and ecclesial synergy in service of vocations.”

The Congregation for Clergy, together with the Diocese of Rome, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and the National Office for Vocational Pastoral Care of the Italian Episcopal Conference organized this prayer vigil.

Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung Sik, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, and Cardinal Baldo Reina, the Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, are expected to attend. The liturgy will be led by the Roman Major Seminary and accompanied by the Diocesan Choir, conducted by Monsignor Marco Frisina. The vigil will feature moments of listening to the Word of God, testimonies, liturgical signs, and a special involvement of young people.

Pope Leo XIV elevates 11 to be beatified; all priests

 

The nine Salesians martyred at Auschwitz and Dachau, 1941-1942 

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• Pope Leo XIV
• saints and blessed
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Pope approves beatification for priests martyred under Nazism and Communism

Pope Leo XIV approves the upcoming beatification of nine Polish priests martyred at Dachau and Auschwitz; and two diocesan priests killed out of “hatred of the faith” by the Communist regime that ruled Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. The Holy Father also promulgates decrees concerning four new Venerables: a Spanish Cistercian nun, a Spanish Dominican priest, an Italian diocesan priest, and an Italian Carmelite friar.

By Tiziana Campisi

Eleven new Blesseds will soon be venerated in the Church. During an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on Friday, Pope Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the martyrdom, out of “hatred of the faith,” of nine Polish Salesians, killed between 1941 and 1942, in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau; and of two diocesan priests from the former Czechoslovakia, murdered between 1951 and 1952 during the persecution carried out against the Catholic Church by the communist regime established in the country after the Second World War.

Martyred by the Nazis

Salesians Jan Świerc, Ignacy Antonowicz, Ignacy Dobiasz, Karol Golda, Franciszek Harazim, Ludwik Mroczek, Włodzimierz Szembek, Kazimierz Wojciechowski, and Franciszek Miśka – all religious men engaged in pastoral and educational work – were victims of Nazi persecution following the German occupation of Poland on 1 September 1939, which was unleashed with particular ferocity also against the Catholic Church.

Uninvolved in the political tensions of the time, they were arrested simply because they were Catholic priests. The special fury reserved for the Polish clergy, who were insulted and persecuted, can be seen in the actions taken against them. In the concentration camps, the religious offered spiritual comfort to their fellow prisoners and, despite the humiliations and tortures endured, continued to manifest their faith. Mocked with insults to their ministry, they were tortured and killed outright, or lost their lives on account of the inhuman conditions of their imprisonment.

Aware that their pastoral ministry was considered by the Nazis as opposition to the regime, they nonetheless continued their apostolic work, remaining faithful to their vocation and serenely accepting the risk of being arrested, deported, or killed.

Frs Juan Bula and Václav Drbola
Martyrs under the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia

Fathers Jan Bula and Václav Drbola, of the Diocese of Brno were killed in Jihlava, out of hatred for the faith. Because of their pastoral zeal, both were considered dangerous by the communist regime that had been established in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and had begun open persecution against the Church.

Even though he had been arrested on 30 April 1951 and remained in prison, Father Bula, the victim of a conspiracy by the state secret police, was accused of inspiring an attack on 2 July 1951 in Babice in which several communist officials were killed. He was tried and sentenced to death, and on 20 May 1952, was hanged at the prison in Jihlava.

Father Drbola, arrested by deceit on 17 June 1951 also accused of involvement in the Babice attack while imprisoned in the same jail, and was condemned to death and executed on August 3, 1951.

Deceived and imprisoned through a plot devised by false witnesses, the two priests endured violence and torture that led to the distortion of events and were eventually forced to sign false confessions of guilt. They were convicted and sentenced to death in show trials managed by the regime.

Aware of the dangers they faced in that context of intense hostility toward the Church, and despite the harshness of imprisonment and the tortures endured, they accepted their fate with faith and trusting abandonment to the will of God, as attested by the letters they wrote before execution and by the testimony of the priest who heard Jan Bula’s confession.

Survey of U.S. Priests show lots of trust in pope Leo XIV; less for U.S. Bishops

 

U.S. priests report high confidence in Pope Leo XIV, less trust in bishops

Pope Leo greets crowds in St. Peter’s Basilica. | Credit: Vatican Media

By Tyler Arnold

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 13:02 pm

A 2025 survey of more than 1,100 American priests found high rates of self-reported personal flourishing, strong confidence in Pope Leo XIV, and a mixed level of trust in U.S. bishops.

The National Study of Catholic Priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project’s 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood. 

The survey showed strong confidence in the first-ever American pope. About 43% of those surveyed expressed “a great deal” of confidence in Leo and another 43% reported “quite a lot” of confidence in the pontiff. About 13% said they have “some” confidence, and only 1% expressed “very little” confidence.

Most priests also predicted the U.S. Church’s relationship with the Vatican will improve, with 51% saying it will improve significantly and 28% saying it will improve somewhat. About 17% said it would likely stay the same, and 3% think it will worsen.

Priests lack trust in U.S. bishops

Confidence in bishops was significantly lower. Just 52% of diocesan priests reported they trust their own bishop, which is slightly higher than the 49% who said the same in 2022. Yet, those numbers are much lower than 2001, when 63% trusted their own bishop.

About 74% of priests said their bishop cares about them, and 11% said their bishop did not. The survey also found that 83% said they can reach their bishop or superior when needed, while 8% said they could not. 

The numbers are worse for U.S. bishops as a whole. Only 27% of priests surveyed reported trust in the U.S. bishops, although this is an uptick from 2022 when only 22% had trust in them. It is much lower than 2001, when 39% of priests trusted U.S. bishops.

Personal flourishing

Priests reported high rates of personal flourishing, which is measured by mental health, physical health, purpose, character, and social relationships. The average rate was 8.2 out of 10, which is identical to the results of the 2022 survey. Diocesan and religious priests reported the same rate of personal flourishing.

When asked questions about whether their religious communities were flourishing, the results were lower. The community flourishing rate was 5.7 out of 10 for diocesan priests and 6.2 out of 10 for religious priests. 

Researchers found that 92% have a close relationship with at least one other priest, but also about one-third of those surveyed said their relationships with other priests tends to be superficial. 

Recently ordained priests reported more loneliness. About 45% of priests ordained in 2000 or later reported loneliness, as did 34% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 27% ordained before 1980.

Burnout

The survey also measured priests’ “burnout,” which asked questions about feeling “worn out and weary” or “emotionally drained” and whether they “talk about [their] ministry in a negative way.” 

For diocesan priests, 56% said they felt no burnout while 44% felt some burnout. Among those feeling burnout, only 7% had high burnout. For religious priests, 69% said they felt no burnout, 31% felt some burnout, and among those feeling burnout only 2% had high burnout. Burnout rates slightly improved since the 2022 survey, which found half of diocesan priests and one-third of religious priests feeling some burnout.

The survey found that 96% of priests reported having access to mental health counseling if they need it, but only 11% are receiving treatment or therapy for a mental health condition.

Some priests, however, said they are “expected to do too many things that go beyond my calling as a priest.” The rate is much higher for newer priests than it is for older priests.

About 45% of priests ordained in 2000 and later reported that feeling, as did 38% of priests ordained between 1980 and 1999 and 13% of priests ordained before 1980.

The survey was conducted between May 12 and June 30 of this year. The response rate was 38%.

Now you know; at Mass why does the Deacon get a blessing from the Priest before proclaiming the Gospel

 

WHY DOES THE PRIEST OR BISHOP BLESS THE DEACON BEFORE HE PROCLAIMS THE GOSPEL?

______________

It’s a moment many overlook during Mass: The deacon approaches the priest or bishop and says softly,

“Your blessing, Father.”

The celebrant then prays over him, and only then does the deacon go to the altar, lift the Book of the Gospels, and head to the ambo to proclaim the Word.

But why this blessing? Is it just formality? Or is there something deeper?

Let’s unfold the meaning.

THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST READ. IT IS PROCLAIMED.

The Gospel is the living voice of Christ, not merely words on a page.

And so, the one who proclaims it must do so not in his own power, but with the help of God’s grace.

That’s why the deacon seeks a blessing before the proclamation, not because he is unworthy, but because the task is so great:

To speak the words of Jesus Himself, To announce the Good News, To become, in that moment, the voice of the Word made flesh.

THE BLESSING IS A PRAYER OF ANOINTING

The celebrant prays:

“May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips,

that you may proclaim His Gospel worthily and well.”

It’s not just a formality, it’s a spiritual preparation.

The deacon becomes a vessel. His voice becomes a channel for divine truth. And the blessing calls down the Spirit, just like at Pentecost, to fill him with fire and clarity.

IT RECALLS THE PROPHETS OF OLD

In the Old Testament, prophets never spoke on their own. They were anointed. Sent. Often trembling.

Just like Isaiah, who said:

“Woe is me… for I am a man of unclean lips…”

And then God purified his lips with a burning coal.

So too, the deacon, before announcing the Word, receives a blessing, as if to say:

“Cleanse my lips, Lord, that I may speak only You.”

IT’S A MARK OF OBEDIENCE AND MISSION

The deacon does not speak on his own authority. He is sent by the Church.

The blessing is a sign of obedience to the bishop or priest who presides, and to the liturgy itself, a sacred structure where no one takes honor upon himself, but is called and sent.

It reminds all of us that the Gospel is not a personal opinion. It’s a message entrusted, received, and announced in faith.

So next time you see the deacon bow and ask for a blessing, remember:

He is not just reading.

He is being sent.

He is not just speaking.

He is echoing Christ.

He does not rely on himself.

He relies on the Spirit.

And we, the Church, are about to hear heaven speak.