Speaking to 32 new priests in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV warned them to not be taken in by today’s models of success and prestige in the world “that are dubious and short-lived.”

The pontiff was ordaining the men on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 27, where he was ordaining the men.

“What I have to say is simple, but I consider it important for your future and for the future of the souls entrusted to your care,” Leo said.

“Love God and your brothers and sisters, and give yourselves to them generously. Be fervent in your celebration of the sacraments, in prayer, especially in adoration before the Eucharist, and in your ministry. Keep close to your flock, give freely of your time and energy to everyone, without reserve and without partiality, as the pierced side of the crucified Jesus and the example of the saints teach us to do,” he continued.

He called on the new priests to remember that the Church, in the two thousand years of her history, has had – and continues to have – “wonderful examples of priestly holiness.”

“From the earliest communities on, the Church has raised up priests who have been martyrs, tireless apostles, missionaries, and champions of charity. Cherish this treasure: Learn their stories, study their lives and work, imitate their virtues, be inspired by their zeal, and invoke their intercession often and insistently,” Leo said.

“All too often, today’s world offers models of success and prestige that are dubious and short-lived. Do not let yourselves be taken in by them! Look rather to the solid example and apostolic fruitfulness, frequently hidden and unassuming, of those who, with faith and dedication, have spent their lives in service of the Lord and their brothers and sisters. Keep their memory alive by your own example of fidelity,” he told them.

The pope told the new priests they are called to deepen their closeness to Jesus and to be a source of harmony in the midst of their brother priests.

“We do so by bearing on our shoulders those who are lost, granting forgiveness to those who have erred, seeking out those who have gone astray or been left behind, and caring for those who suffer in body or spirit,” Leo said.

He recalled in his Mass inaugurating his pontificate, he spoke of his desire for “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”

“Today, I share this desire once more with all of you. Reconciled with one another, united and transformed by the love that flows abundantly from the Heart of Christ, let us walk together humbly and resolutely in his footsteps, firm in faith and open to all in charity. Let us bring the peace of the risen Lord to our world, with the freedom born of the knowledge that we have been loved, chosen and sent by the Father,” the pontiff told them.

The Mass came the day after his meeting with priests attending a conference hosted by the Dicastery for the Clergy.

On Thursday evening, Leo recalled Jesus’s words to the apostles in the Gospel of John: “I have called you friends.”

He said these words are not only an affectionate declaration to the disciples, “but a true and proper key to understanding the priestly ministry.”

“The priest, in fact, is a friend of the Lord, called to live with him a personal and trusting relationship, nourished by the Word, by the celebration of the sacraments, by daily prayer,” he said on Thursday.

“This friendship with Christ is the spiritual foundation of the ordained ministry, the meaning of our celibacy and the energy of the ecclesial service to which we dedicate our lives. It sustains us in moments of trial and enables us to renew every day the ‘Yes’ pronounced at the beginning of our vocation,” Leo told them.

The pontiff told the priests their formation is a journey of relationship.

“Becoming friends of Christ means being formed in relationships, not just in skills. Priestly formation, therefore, cannot be reduced to the acquisition of notions, but is a journey of familiarity with the Lord that involves the whole person, heart, intelligence, freedom, and shapes him in the image of the Good Shepherd,” he said.

The pope said this requires deep listening, meditation, and a rich and orderly interior life.

He told the clergy on Thursday evening that fraternity is an essential style of priestly life.

“Becoming friends of Christ means living as brothers among priests and bishops, not as competitors or individualists. Formation must therefore help to build solid bonds in the presbyterate as an expression of a synodal Church, in which we grow together by sharing the hardships and joys of the ministry. How, in fact, could we ministers be builders of living communities, if there were not first of all an effective and sincere fraternity among us?” Leo said.

Speaking about vocations, the pontiff said that despite the signs of crisis that run through the life and mission of priests, “God continues to call and remains faithful to his promises.”

He said this is why Church clergy wants to rediscover the missionary impulse together.

“A mission that proposes the Gospel of Jesus with courage and love. Through our pastoral action, it is the Lord himself who cares for his flock, gathers the scattered, bends down to the wounded, sustains the discouraged,” Leo said.

“By imitating the Master’s example, we grow in faith and thus become credible witnesses of the vocation we have received. When one believes, one sees: The happiness of the minister reflects his encounter with Christ, sustaining him in mission and service,” the pope said Thursday evening.

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