In Brindisi, Pope Benedict XVI Addresses Priests

From Vatican Radio

During his homily in Brindisi, Pope Benedict spoke of the two-fold Christian vocation to holiness and mission, which is present from the beginning of salvation history and given perfectly to the 12 disciples, whose calling by Jesus was the dramatic core of this Sunday’s Gospel.
In the afternoon, the Holy Father met with the priests of Brindisi-Ostuni in the Cathedral, church of St. John the Baptist.

Pope Benedict encouraged them to place themselves ever more completely in the service of the Gospel, saying, “Christ, to whom you have consecrated your lives, is with you! He is the one in whom we all believe, to him alone do we entrust our lives, it is he, whom we desire to proclaim to the world!

The Holy Father also congratulated the archdiocese on the newly-opened seminary, which today was officially named after Pope Benedict XVI.

The Pope said the seminary is a sign of the present and the future of the diocese, representing as it does the culmination of years of work, and at the same time, the guarantee that, because of the generous and patient work to be done in it, the Christian communities shall never be without shepherds of souls, teachers of faith, zealous guides and witnesses to Christ’s charity.

Pope Benedict went on to say the seminary is not only the place where new priests are formed: it is also a place for the continuing formation and education of young people and adults who desire to be of service to the cause of the Kingdom.

The accurate formation of seminarians and the continuing education of priests and other pastoral workers are of the first concern to the bishop, to whom God has entrusted the mission of guiding, as a wise pastor, the People of God who are here in this city.