Pope Francis celebrates ‘the birthday of the priesthood’ with 1,800 priests on Holy Thursday

Vatican City, Apr 6, 2023 / 03:50 am

On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis presided over a Chrism Mass at which more than 1,880 priests, bishops, and cardinals renewed the promises made at their ordinations.

Pope Francis thanked the priests for the “hidden good” that they do, often in a ministry carried out “with great effort and little recognition.”

In his homily, the pope said that on “the birthday of the priesthood,” he wanted to highlight the vital presence that the Holy Spirit plays in the ministry and life of every priest.

“For without the Spirit of the Lord, there can be no Christian life; without his anointing, there can be no holiness,” he said in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 6.

Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and institution of the sacrament of the priesthood at the Last Supper. Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening at a youth detention center in Rome.

During the Vatican’s Chrism Mass, the pope, as the Bishop of Rome, blessed the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Chrism Oil, which will be used in the diocese during the coming year.

Forty-seven cardinals, 42 bishops, and 1,800 priests living in Rome concelebrated the Mass.

Pope Francis, who was hospitalized for three days last week, arrived at the Mass in a wheelchair and sat in a white chair to the side of the basilica’s main altar.

Speaking during his homily, the pope underlined how the Holy Spirit transformed the lives of Jesus’ apostles after Pentecost.

“After receiving the Spirit, Peter’s fear and wavering dissipated; James and John, with a burning desire to give their lives, no longer sought places of honor; the others who had huddled fearfully in the Upper Room, went forth into the world as apostles,” he said.