Pope to Rome priests: Rekindle the faith, urgent to proclaim Christ's promises

Pope Leo XIV received the priests of the Diocese of Rome in the Vatican on Thursday and exhorted them to rekindle the fire first lit by God when He gave them the gift of collaborating in His work.

The Pope expressed his “great joy” to meet with them and joked that although Lent has just begun, the audience “is not an act of penance.”

In his address, the Pope identified challenges and priorities for priests, inviting them to let faith sustain them.

The Holy Father urged them not to see themselves as “passive executors of an already defined pastoral plan,” but to exercise creativity in collaborating with God’s work.

“Church of Rome," Pope Leo said, "remember to rekindle the gift of God."

Often pressed “by rapid cultural changes and the scenarios in which our mission unfolds, sometimes beset by fatigue and the weight of routine, or discouraged by the growing indifference toward faith and religious practice,” the Pope acknowledged, “we feel the need for this fire to be nourished and rekindled.”

He also exhorted the clergy to working together in communion. “We cannot think and act in isolation,” the Pope said, as he observed how people’s lives and parish life have changed dramatically over the years.