AMERICA - Year for Priests comes to a close: “a year not only for priests, but for the entire People of God”

Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) – Approximately 15,000 priests from nearly 100 countries are now in Rome participating in the International Encounter for the close of the Year for Priests declared by Pope Benedict XVI on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney. In Latin America, various activities have been organized for the closure of the Year for Priests, to demonstrate the spirit of communion lived during this year.
"It was a year not only for priests, but for the entire People of God, because the priest is God's gift to the Church and to the world," wrote the Bishop of Concordia (Argentina), Bishop Luis Armando Collazuol in a letter to the faithful to mark the end of the Year for Priests that the diocese will celebrate on June 25. The region of Buenos Aires organized a meeting at the Shrine of Luján for reflection on the relationship of priests with Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Among the most widely-attended activities were the veneration of the relics of St. John Vianney in November 2009 and the meeting of clergy in the Shrine of Luján.
In Brazil, Archbishop Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro, on June 5 at the Church of Saint Peter in Rio Comprido, presided a Mass for the closing of the Year for Priests in the diocese. In his homily, he stressed the importance of the priestly ministry as a gift from God. He mentioned how Christ, the High Priest, is the one who presides the Mass, and is present in words and actions of the Church, nurturing and forgiving the People of God. He added that the priest, among the people and trained to serve them, builds up the Kingdom of God in history.
The Archdiocese of Lima in Peru opened a website to present all activities, documents, and topics concerning the Year for Priests. In Bolivia, great importance was given to the competition "Anecdotes in the Life of a Priest,” a type of writing contest specifically designed for the context of the Year for Priests. The Commission for the Missions of the Bishops' Conference has also proposed the prayer for the priests from Blessed Nazaría Ignacia (1889-1943), who was from Oruro but is now known throughout the world.
In other countries, there was a re-publication of the message "The Missionary Identity of the Priest in the Church," written by Cardinal Claudio Hummes for the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, in March 2009, where the conclusions states: "The mission is a constitutive element of identity Church and in particular of priests ... The missionary task in today's world, is truly great and requires a renewal of pastoral care, which is conceived as a 'permanent mission,' a mission 'ad gentes'." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 10/06/2010)