The Year for Priests

Pope Benedict XVI announces a special "Year for Priests" beginning June 19. Bishop Loverde reminds priests of the diocese that indulgences can be gained during this special celebration.

Before departing on his recent papal trip to Africa on March 16, Pope Benedict XVI announced a special “Year for Priests” that would begin on June 19 and continue until June 19 of next year. The pope remarked that this year would both recall the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé of Ars, and encourage priests throughout the world to continue striving for spiritual perfection. Since St. John Vianney is a model of devoted and zealous priestly service, Pope Benedict XVI expressed the hope that priests would imitate the dedication and fidelity of St. John Vianney and that the faithful would be encouraged to pray for the sanctification of priests.

In order to respond to the pope’s desires, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde recently addressed a letter to diocesan priests in which he announced the formation of a committee of priests; the committee will assist him in providing suggestions for celebrating the Year for Priests on a parish and a diocesan level.

In the same letter, Bishop Loverde also granted each priest the option of celebrating either the Mass of St. John Vianney or the Mass for Priests on Sunday, Aug. 2, in place of the Mass of the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time. The bishop wrote that celebrating the alternative Masses would give priests an opportunity in the homily to catechize the faithful on the meaning and importance of the Year for Priests and on the life and ministry of St. John Vianney.

Bishop Loverde also reminded the priests that certain indulgences can be gained both by priests and by the lay faithful during the Year for Priests. A plenary indulgence may be gained under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father) by “truly repentant priests who, on any day, devoutly recite at least morning Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed for public adoration or replaced in the tabernacle, and who, after the example of St. John Mary Vianney, offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession” (Apostolic Penitentiary decree, “Special Indulgence for the Year for Priests”; all quotations that follow are from this decree).

A partial indulgence “is granted to priests who may apply it to their deceased confreres every time that they devoutly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a holy life and to carry out in a holy manner the offices entrusted to them.”

All the faithful may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions — “who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of the Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that He may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart.” This plenary indulgence may be gained “on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends (June 19, 2009 and June 19, 2010), on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St. John Mary Vianney (August 4), on the first Thursday of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.” This plenary indulgence is likewise granted to the elderly, the sick and all legitimately confined to their homes, “provided that on the above-mentioned days they recite prayers for the sanctification of priests and confidently offer the illnesses and hardships of their lives to God through Mary, Queen of Apostles.”

A partial indulgence is granted “to all the faithful every time they devoutly recite five Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias, or another expressly approved prayer, in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain that priests be preserved in purity and holiness of life.”

The bishop encouraged all priests in the diocese to seek out these spiritual treasures for themselves, for their deceased brother priests, and to make the faithful in their parishes and places of ministry aware of the indulgences — so as to aid in the call to priestly sanctification.

In his letter, Bishop Loverde also noted that the bishops of the United States have developed a Web site with resources for the Year for Priests (usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtml), and he encouraged everyone to make use of these resources, in particular “A Priest’s Prayer” and “The Peoples’ Prayer for Priests,” which can be found in English and in Spanish on the Web site.

Fr. deLadurantaye is director of the Office of Sacred Liturgy, secretary for diocesan religious education and a professor of theology at Christendom’s Notre Dame Graduate School.

Also see: Basilica Mass to open Year for Priests