Beyond the meetings and celebrations planned for Pope Leo XIV's visit, there is an underlying thread that runs through many of his interventions since the beginning of his pontificate: the need to pay special attention to the formation of seminarians; of those who are preparing to become priests: to be Christ himself.
During 2025 and 2026 in various meetings and documents, Pope Leo XIV has been outlining a coherent vision of the priesthood and the formation of seminarians. These are not isolated statements, but a constant teaching that focuses on the depth, maturity and integral preparation required for the person who will be another Christ.
These are some of his most significant statements and the context in which they were made.
Address to the Spanish seminarians on February 28, 2026. In welcoming the Spanish seminary communities, Leo XIV recalled that each seminary is a source of hope for the whole Church. Wherever there are young men who respond to God's call and prepare themselves to be formed for the priesthood, the Church discovers that the Lord continues to act in history.
But this hope is not only born from the number of vocations, but also from the interior journey that is cultivated in the seminary: learning to look at reality with faith, living in relationship with God and allowing this supernatural gaze to give unity to the whole of formation.
In this way, the seminary becomes a place where pastors are prepared who are able to recognize God's action in the concrete lives of people.
Apostolic letter Loyalty that generates future, of December 8, 2025. In this programmatic letter, the Holy Father proposes a vision of the priesthood in the key of perseverance. Fidelity is not simply external constancy, but a daily response to the call received.
In speaking of a fidelity that generates the future, the Pope connects the concrete life of the priest with the future of the Church. A solid formation is the ground where this fidelity learns to be sustained even in times of difficulty.
Formation is a path of relationship. Becoming friends of Christ means being formed in relationship, not just in competence.«
Meeting with the Dicastery for the Clergy, June 26, 2025. Addressing formators, priests and seminarians, Leo XIV recalled that priestly formation cannot be reduced to the acquisition of knowledge or pastoral skills.
At its core is a personal relationship with Christ. The seminary is the place where this friendship is learned and cultivated: a familiarity with the Lord that involves the whole life of the future priest, his heart, his intelligence and his freedom, and gradually configures him to the image of the Good Shepherd.
Forming priests, therefore, does not consist only in transmitting content, but in accompanying a journey of life with Christ in order to be Christ himself for others.
4. «The seminary must be a true school of affection».
Jubilee of seminarians, June 24, 2025. During the Jubilee dedicated to seminarians, the Pope stressed that the seminary is not only a place of study. It is a place where one learns to integrate the affective dimension, to order one's feelings and to grow in human equilibrium.
In speaking of a school of the affections, Leo XIV emphasized personal maturity as an indispensable condition for ministry. Intellectual preparation is necessary, but it bears fruit only when it is based on a unified personality capable of healthy relationships.
From June 6 to 12, Pope Leo XIV will visit Spain, as announced the EEC. It will be a historic event for the Church in our country. Millions of people will participate in adoration gatherings, celebrations of the Holy Mass and public events.
Every time a Pope visits a country, he does not only leave images or headlines. He leaves something more profound: he moves consciences, awakens transcendent questions of the young and the young at heart, confirms a multitude of vocations and strengthens personal decisions that are often made in silence. Throughout recent history, papal visits have been moments of grace that have marked entire generations.
This visit also comes at a time when the Holy Father insists with daily clarity on a message of peace for the world and, in the area of the priesthood, the need for well-trained priests. It is not enough that there are vocations; it is necessary to accompany them, support them and offer them an integral preparation. Investing in their formation today is a concrete way of caring for the future of the Church.
In many countries of the world there are young people with a vocation, from places where faith is strong, but economic resources are very scarce. That is where your help makes a difference. Your support becomes essential.
The CARF Foundation works precisely in what Pope Leo XIV is requesting: to encourage the integral formation (human, spiritual and academic) of seminarians and diocesan priests in 130 countries.
Every donation helps to ensure that these words of the Holy Father do not remain a wish, but become a concrete reality.
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carf@fundacioncarf.orgLandline: +34 914 029 082Mobile: +34 638 078 51145 Conde de Peñalver Street.
