Conclusion of Year for Priests begins

(June 08,2010) The three-day celebrations marking the closing of the Year for Priests, begin on Wednesday in Rome. The year-long celebration was launched by Pope Benedict XVI last June 19, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. A one-day retreat was held on Tuesday in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome for bishops, priests and seminarians.
Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, who gave the meditations told the large gathering, “It is with great joy that I join with you in prayers today in the Papal Arch Basilica.”
Noting that on Wed. thousands of priests will be welcomed in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Archbishop Piacenza said the retreat can be called the “Convocation of the Holy Spirit” as the Spirit is the soul of the Church. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church would even cease to exist, he said. The prelate told the priests that it is the Holy Spirit, who has consecrated them to share in the Priesthood of Christ, making them a docile tool to the voice of the Lord, repeating daily at the Eucharist the words of the Lord, and restoring everything back to Christ. The prelate said “ During our retreat today, let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and help us renew ourselves. An authentic renewal, he said, is to render service in communion with the Church and particularly with the Pope.
On the closing day of the Year for Priests, Friday, June 11, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Some 15 thousand are expected to attend.