Vatican City: In a deeply moving ordination ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV urged newly ordained priests to live with integrity, humility, and transparency, emphasizing that their lives must reflect the Gospel they are called to preach. Addressing thousands of faithful during Saturday’s solemn liturgy, the Holy Father ordained several men to the priesthood, highlighting the sacred responsibility entrusted to them by Christ and His Church.

In his homily, Pope Leo reflected on the unique bond between priests and the people they serve, declaring that a priest’s identity should be deeply rooted in union with Christ, the eternal High Priest. He reminded the new ordinands that their vocation is not a position of privilege, but one of service, sacrifice, and solidarity with the community.

“The life of a priest,” the Pope said, “must be visible and trustworthy, shaped by a transparent witness. We do not serve from above, but from within—amid the daily joys, wounds, and hopes of God’s people.”

The Pope spoke of the grace that ordination brings—not as a personal achievement, but as a gift meant to be shared. He likened God’s enduring presence to “a gentle breeze” that does not demand attention, but quietly restores faith and unity across the generations.

Pope Leo emphasized that priests must avoid detachment from the real world, warning against spiritual elitism. “The people you serve are of flesh and blood,” he said, “so must your ministry be—real, grounded, and merciful.”

Echoing Pope Francis’ frequent caution, Pope Leo warned that self-centeredness and clerical pride are enemies of the missionary spirit. “Do not treat this gift as a personal privilege,” he said, “but as a calling to consecrate yourselves to others—to their wounds, their doubts, their stories.”

Referring to the ministry of St. Paul, the Holy Father reminded the new priests that they are stewards of the mysteries of Christ, not masters. “This mission is not ours to own,” he noted. “It belongs to Jesus. We are only vessels of His love.”

Pope Leo invoked the Apostle’s words to the Ephesians—“You know how I lived among you”—to stress that the credibility of the Church is rebuilt by visible, holy lives. Priests, he said, are called to stand among the people, not apart from them, embodying the Gospel in both word and deed.

The Pope also addressed the broader Church, saying that a “wounded world” awaits healing through the compassion of Christ, reflected in the lives of His ministers. He pointed to the wounds of the Risen Jesus—symbols both of rejection and of God’s enduring forgiveness—as the heart of Christian witness.

“Christ’s love,” Pope Leo proclaimed, “does not dominate—it liberates. It does not possess—it empowers.”

As the ceremony drew to a close, the Pope invited the congregation of 55,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to support the newly ordained priests with prayer and encouragement. “Heaven and earth meet in this calling,” he said. “Through the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Church, may the common priesthood of all believers rise to bless the world anew.”

This ordination Mass stood not only as a personal milestone for the new priests, but also as a compelling call for all clergy to renew their vocation in transparency, humility, and faithful service.