I fraternally greet His Excellency Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, as well as all the bishops of the Province of Paris. And I greet you all, dear priests, gathered here in Notre-Dame Cathedral on the occasion of your “Jubilee of Priests” and the sixtieth anniversary of the Constitution Presbyterorum ordinis, which you will be reflecting on.

I am happy to be able to show you my paternal affection and to give you my best encouragement as you continue your ministry in the service of the People of God entrusted to you. To achieve this in the difficult - and often challenging - ecclesial and social conditions that you are experiencing, I invite you to anchor your life and your ministry in an ever stronger, personal and authentic love of Jesus, who has made you his friends and configured you to him for eternity; and in a generous and unreserved love for your communities, a love marked by closeness, compassion, gentleness, humility and simplicity, as the late Pope Francis so often reminded us. In this way, you will be credible even if you are not yet saints, and you will touch the heart of people who are farthest away from you, winning their trust and bringing them towards Jesus. I invite you to cultivate priestly fraternity among yourselves, to maintain a close bond of charity with your bishops and to pray unceasingly for the unity of the Church. May the Holy Spirit help you to renew every day the generous gift you made of yourselves to the Lord on the day of your ordination.

Imploring upon each of you the protection of Our Lady, and the intercession of all the holy priests and bishops of Paris who have preceded you, I impart to you with all my heart the Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 4 June 2025

LEO PP. XIV

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 5 June 2025