Vatican: Pope Francis receives Argentine priests

Pope Francis received this Thursday at the Vatican the community of the Argentine Priestly College in Rome, with whom he shared some advice inspired by the example of the Holy Priest Brochero.

With his characteristic closeness, Pope Francis regretted at the beginning of the meeting that he could not accompany them later to the celebration of Mass or share with them an asado, the traditional Argentine meat-based dish.

“I don’t need to tell you that I’m still looking forward to the barbecue. But being a pastor, as you well know, places us sometimes in front and sometimes behind, according to the designs of the One who is Lord of our lives,” said the Pontiff.

At the center of his speech, Pope Francis placed the figure and example of the Holy Priest Brochero, a “street priest of faith” and patron of the Argentine clergy. In particular, he reflected on his “priestly soul” and recalled the statement that those who knew him used to say: “Brochero should have been nothing but a priest.”

From this example, the Pontiff stressed the need to “firmly assume this priestly identity,” warning that the vocation “is not an appendix” or a means to other ends, but rather “God’s project in our life, which “God sees in us what moves his gaze of love.”

“I would dare to say that in a certain way it is the love that He has for us and in this lies our true essence,” he added.

The Holy Father encouraged priests to embrace “the ecclesiastical career” proposed by the Argentine saint, who exhorted them to “work for the good of their neighbors until the last moment of life.”

In this sense, he invited them to a “total surrender” to God in the service of their neighbor, “wearing themselves for the Gospel.”

He also recalled a piece of advice from Priest Brochero: “battle with the enemies of the soul, like pumas, who fight while lying down when they cannot defend themselves when standing.”

In this sense, he urged them to “take care of our inner life, keep the fire burning, with great humility, ‘cast down’, because ‘standing’ in our pride we are more vulnerable.”

Another of the pieces of advice that Pope Francis offered them was to take care of the priestly fraternity, starting with the relationship with the bishop, “who is considered a simple soldier, to emulate the exploits of the heroes, fighting alongside him, side by side, until the last cartridge.”

And also with his brother priests, correcting them with confidence and frankness, encouraging them to lead “a life of profound piety, with frequent confession.”

Finally, he asked them to stay close to the Eucharist and never “leave it.” He highlighted that Priest Brochero, no matter how arduous his task was, “sought to never give up, spending much of the night outdoors, in the middle of the cornfields,” so that he could celebrate at dawn.

“That sacrificial respect for the mystery that, far from impositions, permeated more than a thousand words of cloying eloquence,” Pope Francis concluded.