Pope Leo XIV Urges Future Vatican Envoys to Serve with Humility and Faith

Vatican City, June 20, 2025: Pope Leo XIV addressed a group of priests from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy who recently completed a year of missionary service during an audience held at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Friday. During the meeting, the Holy Father personally commended the priests for their dedication and urged them to live out their priesthood with humility, closeness to people, and unwavering faith, wherever in the world the Church may send them.

“I welcome you with joy and extend my heartfelt greeting to each of you,” the Pope said in his opening remarks. Acknowledging the presence of Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, President of the Academy and the Prefect of Studies, he expressed gratitude for his work in forming priests ready to serve the Church in every corner of the globe.

The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy prepares young ecclesiastics for the diplomatic service of the Holy See through a programme of specialised studies, following the completion of an ecclesiastical degree.

In his address, Pope Leo noted that the missionary year, now an integral part of the Academy’s formation journey, represents not only a final stage of preparation but also a “crowning experience” that roots each priest’s future ministry in real, pastoral engagement.

He also reiterated to the priests the importance of being "shepherds with their feet on the ground", a phrase from Il ministero petrino, a key document by Pope Francis, which redefined the priestly ministry at the service of the papacy.

The Pope added that the care of the universal Church, a responsibility entrusted to the Successor of Peter, requires “the faithful and irreplaceable service” of priests like them, whether they are later assigned to the diplomatic service or other pastoral missions.

“I urge you to live the gift of your priesthood with humility and meekness, with the ability to listen and to remain close to others,” he said, calling them to be “faithful and tireless disciples of Christ the Good Shepherd.”

Finally, he thanked the priests for the “docility and dedication” with which they served in widely diverse and often demanding settings during their missionary year.

“Whatever the task that will be entrusted to you, and wherever in the world you may be sent,” the Pope said in closing, “the Pope must be able to count on priests who, in both prayer and in action, bring his closeness to peoples and Churches through their witness.”

Courtesy: Vatican News