(ZENIT News / Rome-Madrid, 11.02.2026).- On the occasion of the Presbyteral Assembly of the Archdiocese of Madrid, held on February 9-10, Pope Leo XIV made his presence felt through a letter addressed to the 1,200 participating priests. Below we offer the full text of the letter. It is a text that is not only spiritually rich and pastorally realistic but also affectionate and motivating. We appreciate the revival of an expression that had fallen into disuse: the Pope addressing priests also as «sons.»
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Dear Sons:
I am pleased to address this letter to you on the occasion of your Presbyteral Assembly, and to do so with a sincere desire for fraternity and unity. I thank your Archbishop and, from the bottom of my heart, each one of you for your willingness to meet as a presbytery, not only to discuss common matters, but also to support one another in the mission you share.
I value the commitment with which you live and exercise your priesthood in parishes, ministries, and diverse realities. I know that this ministry often unfolds amidst weariness, complex situations, and a silent dedication witnessed only by God. Precisely for this reason, I hope these words reach you as a gesture of closeness and encouragement, and that this encounter fosters an atmosphere of sincere listening, true communion, and trusting openness to the action of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to work in your lives and your mission.
The times the Church is living through invite us to pause together for serene and honest reflection. Not so much to dwell on immediate diagnoses or emergency management, but to learn to deeply understand the moment we are living in, recognizing, in the light of faith, the challenges and also the possibilities that the Lord opens to us. On this path, it becomes increasingly necessary to train our eyes and practice discernment, so that we may perceive more clearly what God is working, often silently and discreetly, in our midst and in our communities.
This reading of the present cannot disregard the cultural and social framework in which faith is lived and expressed today. In many circles, we observe advanced processes of secularization, a growing polarization in public discourse, and a tendency to reduce the complexity of the human person, interpreting it through partial and insufficient ideologies or categories. Within this framework, faith risks being instrumentalized, trivialized, or relegated to the realm of the irrelevant, while forms of coexistence that disregard any transcendent reference become entrenched.
Added to this is a profound cultural shift that cannot be ignored: the progressive disappearance of shared points of reference. For a long time, the Christian seed found fertile ground, because moral language, the great questions about the meaning of life, and certain fundamental notions were, at least in part, shared. Today, this common ground has weakened considerably. Many of the conceptual assumptions that for centuries facilitated the transmission of the Christian message are no longer self-evident and, in many cases, even comprehensible. The Gospel encounters not only indifference, but a different cultural horizon, in which words no longer mean the same thing and where the initial proclamation cannot be taken for granted.
However, this description does not fully capture what is really happening. I am convinced — and I know that many of you perceive it in the daily exercise of your ministry — that a new unease is opening up in the hearts of many people, especially young people. The absolutization of well-being has not brought the expected happiness; a freedom detached from truth has not generated the promised fulfilment; and material progress, by itself, has not managed to satisfy the deepest desire of the human heart.
Indeed, the dominant proposals, along with certain hermeneutical and philosophical interpretations used to try to understand humanity’s destiny, far from offering a sufficient answer, have often left a greater sense of weariness and emptiness. Precisely for this reason, we observe that many people are beginning to open themselves to a more honest and authentic search, a search that, accompanied by patience and respect, is leading them back to an encounter with Christ. This reminds us that for the priest, this is not a time for withdrawal or resignation, but for faithful presence and generous availability. All of this stems from the recognition that the initiative always belongs to the Lord, who is already at work and precedes us with His grace.
Thus, the kind of priests Madrid — and the entire Church — needs in this time is becoming clearer. Certainly not men defined by a multitude of tasks or by the pressure of results, but men configured to Christ, capable of sustaining their ministry through a living relationship with Him, nourished by the Eucharist and expressed in a pastoral charity marked by the sincere gift of self. It is not a matter of inventing new models or redefining the identity we have received, but of proposing anew, with renewed intensity, the priesthood in its most authentic core — being alter Christus –, allowing Him to shape our lives, unify our hearts, and give form to a ministry lived from intimacy with God, faithful dedication to the Church, and concrete service to the people entrusted to us.
My dear sons, allow me to speak to you today about the priesthood, using an image you know well: your Cathedral. Not to discover a building, but to learn from it. For Cathedrals — like any sacred place — exist, like the priesthood, to lead us to an encounter with God and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters, and their elements hold a lesson for our life and ministry.
Upon seeing façade, we learn something essential. It is the first thing one sees, and yet it doesn’t say everything: it indicates, suggests, invites. Likewise, the priest does not live to show off, but neither does he live to hide. His life is called to be visible, coherent, and recognizable, even if it is not always understood. The façade does not exist for itself: it leads inward. Similarly, the priest is never an end in himself. His entire life is called to point to God and to accompany the journey toward the Mystery, without usurping His place.
Upon reaching the threshold, we understand that it is not fitting for everything to enter, for it is sacred space. The threshold marks a step, a necessary separation. Before entering, something remains outside. The priesthood is also lived in this way: being in the world, but not of the world (cf. John 17:14). At this crossroads lie celibacy, poverty, and obedience; not as a negation of life, but as the concrete way that allows the priest to belong entirely to God without ceasing to walk among men.
The Cathedral is also a common home, where everyone has a place. This is how the Church is called to be, especially toward her priests: a home that welcomes, protects, and does not abandon. And this is how priestly fraternity must be lived: as the concrete experience of knowing oneself to be at home, responsible for one another, attentive to the lives of our brothers, and ready to support each other. My sons, no one should feel exposed or alone in the exercise of the ministry: resist together the individualism that impoverishes the heart and weakens the mission!
As we walk through the temple, we notice that everything rests on the columns that support the whole. The Church has seen in them the image of the Apostles (cf. Ephesians 2:20). Likewise, the priestly life does not stand on its own, but on the apostolic witness received and transmitted in the living Tradition of the Church, and safeguarded by the Magisterium (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Timothy 1:13-14). When the priest remains anchored on this foundation, he avoids building on the sand of partial interpretations or circumstantial accents, and rests on the firm rock that precedes and surpasses him (cf. Matthew 7:24-27).
Before reaching the presbytery, the Cathedral reveals to us discreet yet fundamental places: at the baptismal font, the People of God are born; in the confessional, they are continually regenerated. In the Sacraments, grace is revealed as the most real and effective force of the priestly ministry. Therefore, dear priests, celebrate the Sacraments with dignity and faith, being aware that what is produced in them is the true power that builds up the Church and that they are the ultimate end to which all our ministry is ordered. But do not forget that you are not the source, but the channel, and that you too need to drink from that water. Therefore, do not neglect confession, always returning to the mercy you proclaim.
Alongside the central space, several chapels open up. Each has its own history and dedication. Despite their differences in style and composition, they all share the same orientation; none is turned inward, none disrupts the harmony of the whole. This is also true in the Church with the various charisms and spiritualities through which the Lord enriches and sustains your vocation. Each receives a particular way of expressing faith and nurturing inner life, yet all remain oriented toward the same center.
Let us look to the heart of it all, my sons: here is revealed what gives meaning to what you do each day and from which your ministry springs. On the altar, through your hands, the sacrifice of Christ is made present in the highest action entrusted to human hands; in the tabernacle, He whom you have offered remains, entrusted anew to your care. Be worshippers, men of profound prayer, and teach your people to do the same.
At the end of this journey, to be the priests that the Church needs today, I leave you with the same advice of your holy compatriot, Saint John of Avila: «Be all His» (Sermon 57). Be holy! I entrust you to Our Lady of Almudena and, with a heart full of gratitude, I impart to you the Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to all those entrusted to your pastoral care.
Vatican, January 28, 2026. Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church.
LEO PP. XIV
