Ad catholici sacerdotii

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With the encyclical Ad catholici sacerdotii (Latin: ... on the Catholic priesthood ...) of December 20, 1935, Pope Pius XI. drawn up a set of principles for priestly formation and the priesthood. He relies on the Pope Leo XIII. published encyclicals Depuis le jour (1899), Paternae (1899) and Fin dal principio (1902), which also deal with the formation of the clergy in France, Brazil and Italy.

The priesthood

“Since the day We saw Ourselves raised to the highest peak of the“ Catholic priesthood ”by the unfathomable counsel of Divine Providence, We have ceaselessly given Our special attention and love to those of Our countless God-given Sons, those with the character of Adorned the priesthood, commissioned to be “the salt of the earth and light of the world”; and even more so to those dear young men who are brought up in the shadow of the sanctuary and who are preparing for this sublime mission ”, with these words Pius XI opened. his encyclical.

Work of god

He writes about the fundamentals of the priesthood: The priest is indeed a human being and raised from the number of human beings, but one who was trained for human beings on behalf of God . The objects of his office are not human and perishable things, but divine and eternal. In this matter the priest is ultimately the work of Jesus Christ and through his office he is also the intercessor with God. At the same time, however, it is also clear that this office does not stand in itself, but must be characterized in terms of its service function and that it is legitimized by Christ for this service function . These powers, which have been given to the priest through a special sacrament , are not temporary in him, but permanent and permanent, since they are based on an indelible character impressed on the soul through which he became a priest for eternity.

Priest training

The Pope lays down the criteria and forms of priestly formation and gives very clear instructions to the bishops and teachers in the seminaries . For him, the personal support and advice of the seminarians is in the foreground.

Seminaries

It stipulates that, if possible, a seminary should be opened in every diocese ; in those dioceses in which the prerequisites are not met, a supra-diocesan (regional, central or national) seminary is necessary. Depending on the local conditions, the cooperation of the diocesan and religious clergy is necessary so that suitable sites for church studies can be created more easily with combined forces and resources while maintaining their own rights and obligations.

Head of the seminary

The leaders are appointed by the bishop after careful deliberation, unless the seminary statutes dictate otherwise. Everyone should be concerned about the progress of the seminary, and should have frequent conversations with the bishop and seminarians in order to find out what is better for the common good and to improve the educational work more and more. The selection of superiors and professors must also be made with particular care and, at the same time, if they do not meet the requirements, their teaching permits must be withdrawn.

The candidates for priests

The proper formation of candidates for the priesthood requires careful selection, and above all helping seminarians to consider seriously and sincerely before God whether they are entitled to believe that they are called to the priesthood and the reasons for which they are called strive to be able to judge. Particular emphasis should be placed on the examinations prescribed before receiving the holy orders . That is why the rain should observe and judge the candidates, this knowledge should come from its own observation and from people who know the candidates well, especially pastors , (other) priests and selected laypeople (whereby the area of ​​conscience must be preserved). The rain should communicate this knowledge to the bishop so that he can form a clear judgment on the candidate's calling.

Pastoral training

The entire priestly formation must be permeated by a pastoral spirit, since the aim of the seminar is to train pastors , the pastoral aspect is to be worked out in a special way in all disciplines .

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