Vatican City. Some fifteen thousand priests of the whole world went to St. Peter’s Square on the evening of June 10. This priestly concentration has been considered the largest in the history of the Church.
In answer to the convocation by Pope Benedict XVI, a Prayer Vigil was held as a part of the closing celebrations of the “Year for Priests.”
Among this crowd, a small Claretian representation rejoiced at discovering that in the seats reserved for priests, a gift was waiting for them: a small book edited by the Congregation for the Clergy. The book is entitled “Adorazione eucaristica per la santificazione dei sacerdoti e maternità spirituale” (Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests and spiritual maternity).
At the end of the book, on pages 48-50 there are some texts of our Fr. Founder and an image of him. This reference to our Founder, who will now be better known by the universal clergy, is a good complement for the celebration of the 175th anniversary of his priestly ordination.
The Year for Priests has ended with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Pope, in the morning of June 12, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
