The Year of the Priest

"Faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of priests" is the theme of the Year for Priests announced on March 16, 2009, by the Holy Father. The Pope inaugurated the Year on June 19, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presiding at Vespers in St. Peter's Basilica. He will close the year on June 19, 2010, at a "World Meeting of Priests" in St. Peter's Square.

The Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur also launched the Year of the Priest with Solemn Vespers and a Eucharistic Celebration on the same day at the Church of Sacred Heart, Peel Road, Kuala Lumpur. Our parish followed suit on the following day, 20th June, at the Sunset mass.

What is the Year of the Priest?

According to Pope Benedict XVI in proclaiming the Year of the Priest, he announced that the Year of the Priest, was "meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world." (the full text)

The Year of the Priesthood also commemorates the 150th anniversary celebration of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, the Patron Saint of Parish Priests and Pastors of Souls.

The Congregation for the Clergy also suggests and highlights the following points for reflection and action:
• It must be a year that is both positive and forward looking in which the Church says to her priests above all, but also to all the Faithful and to wider society, that she is proud of her priests, loves them, honours them, admires them and that she recognises with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life.
• May this year be an occasion for a period of intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society.
This special year it is intended “to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends”.
• It must be, in a very special way, a year of prayer by priests, with priests and for priests, a year for the renewal of the spirituality of the presbyterate and of each priest.
• It also be a year in which the concrete circumstances and the material sustenance of the clergy will be considered, since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world.
• It is a year of religious and of public celebration which will bring the people – the local Catholic community – to pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honour to their priests. May it therefore be an opportunity to develop the communion and friendship between priests and the communities entrusted to their care.

Some Videos related to the Year of the Priest:

Pope Benedict XVI inaugurates the Year of the Priest

Year of the Priest

The Cure D'Ars, Patron Saint of Priests