To mark the end of the Year for Priests, which will be celebrated on Friday 11th June, 2010, Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. is presently in Rome to attend a Congress which is being organized by the Congregation for the Clergy. He is accompanied by another twenty priests from Malta and Gozo. Around 11,000 priests from 110 other countries are attending this Congress.
The Congress, which started on the 9th June, aimed to offer a variety of meetings and liturgical celebrations. Its goal is to assist priests to grow further in awareness of their vocation and renew their commitment to the priesthood. The Maltese priests are forming part of the English-speaking group which meets at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls (Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura). On Wednesday morning, the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, led a meditation on the sacrament of Reconciliation. Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy, led the celebration of the Eucharist.
On Thursday, 10th June, the Maltese priests participated in a meditation which was led by Cardinal Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec, Canada. The celebration of the Eucharist was led by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State of the Vatican.
The Congress comes to an end on Friday, 11th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this occasion, Pope Benedict XVI will be celebrating Mass in St Peter’s Square to mark the end of the Year for Priests.
The Maltese group, led by Archbishop Paul Cremona, had the opportunity to visit the Necropolis – a cemetery beneath the Basilica of St Peter’s, where, according to tradition, St Peter is buried.
This beautiful experience is characterized by a great spirit of brotherhood between members of the clergy, whose renewed commitment to the mission entrusted to them by Jesus Christ, extends to their communities spread throughout the world.
