It's very strange that the banner of the college does not carry an image of St. Joseph for whom it is named!
Pope receives community of
Spanish seminary in Rome
May 10, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI received the students, faculty, and staff of the Pontifical Spanish College of St. Joseph of Rome on Thursday, to mark the 50th anniversary of the College’s current facilities. S
Speaking to his guests in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict paid tribute to the thousands of priests who have studied at the College since its founding in the 19th century, and expressed joy at marking the fiftieth anniversary of its facilities at via di Torre Rossa in Rome, just Southwest of Vatican City.
The Holy Father especially invoked San Juan de Avila, whose liturgical feast the Church marks today, recalling that he will formally declare the saint and Patron of Spanish secular clergy a Doctor of the Church.
Pope Benedict reminded his guests that the training of priests is always a top priority for the Church, and that the priest renews his life and his ministry by drawing strength from the contemplation of God’s word and from intense dialogue with the Lord.
“You cannot bring Christ to your brethren, nor can you find Him in the poor and the sick,” said Pope Benedict, “if you do not discover Him first in fervent and constant prayer.”
he Holy Father went on to discuss the need to promote a personal relationship with Christ whom the priest proclaims, celebrates and communicates, saying that this is the foundation of priestly spirituality.
Eminences,
Venerated brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Rector, superiors, religious, and alumni
of the Pontificio Colegio Espanol de San Jose in Rome:
It is my pleasure to receive you today to commemorate the 50 years of the present seat of the Pontificio Colegio Español de San José, especially on the liturgical feast of San Juan de Avila, patron of Spanish secular clergy and whom I shall be proclaiming a Doctor of the Church.
I greet Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid and president of the Spanish bishops' conference, whom I thank for his kind words, and I likewise greet the archbishops who are members of the patronate, the rector, the formators, religious and you, dear alumni.
This ephemeris marks a relevant stage of the long itinerary of this residence-school which began towards the end of the 19th century, when Blessed Manuel Domingo y Sol, founder of the Hermandad de Sacerdotes Operarios Diocesanos (Brotherhood of Diocesan Worker Priests), ventured to create a college in Rome with the blessing of my venerated predecessor, Leo XIII, and the support of the Spanish episcopate.
Thousands of seminarians and priests have passed through your college and served the Church in Spain with great love and fidelity to their mission.
The specific formation of priests is always one of the major priorities of the Church. Having been sent to Rome to deepen your studies for the priesthood, you must think above all, not so much of your own personal good, but your service to the holy people of God, who need pastors who are committed to the beautiful service of sanctifying the faithful with great preparation and competence.
But remember that the priest renews his life and draws strength for his ministry in contemplating the Divine Word and in an intense dialog with the Lord. He must be aware that he cannot bring Christ to his brothers nor encounter him in the poor and the sick, unless he first discovers him in fervent and constant prayer.
It is necessary to promote a personal relationship with him whom you will announce, celebrate and communicate. This is the foundation of priestly spirituality, until you become the transparent sign and living witness of the Good Shepherd.
The itinerary of priestly formation is also a school for missionary communion - with the Successor of Peter, with your own bishop, in your own presbytery, and always, at the service of your local Church and the universal Church.
Dear priests, may the life and doctrine of the saintly teacher Juan de Avila illuminate and sustain your stay at the Pontifical College. His profound knowledge of Sacred Scripture, of the Fathers of the Church, of the Councils, of the liturgical sources and healthy theology, together with his loyal and filial love for the Church, made him an authentic renewer during a difficult era in the history of the Church.
Because of that, he was a "clear-eyed and ardent spirit, who in his denunciation of evils, in his recommendations for canonical remedies, added a school of intense spirituality" (Paul VI, Homily during the canonization of San Juan de Avila, May 31, 1970).
The central teaching of the Apostle of Andalucia was the mystery of Christ, Priest and Good shepherd, which he lived in harmony with the feelings of the Lord, imitating St. Paul (cf Phil 2,5). "The Priest must look into this priestly mirror in order to conform yourselves in your desires and prayer with Him" (Tract on priesthood, 10). Priesthood essentially requires his aid and friendship: "This communication of the Lord with the priest... is a question of friendship", the saint said (ibid.,9).
Inspired by the virtues and the example of San Juan de Avila, I therefore invite you to exercise your priestly ministry with the same apostolic zeal that characterized him, with the same austerity of life, as well as with the same filial affection that he had for the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of priests.
Under the close advocacy of the Mater clementissima, countless alumni have entrusted their vocation to her, their studies, their most noble desires and plans, as well as their sorrows and concerns. Do not neglect to invoke her every day, nor should you tire to repeat her name with devotion.
Listen to San Juan de Avila, when he exhorted priests to imitate her: "Let us look at ourselves, Fathers. from head to foot, body and soul, and we shall see ourselves become similar to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who with her words, brought God to her womb... as the priest brings him forth with the words of the consecration" (First Sermon to Priests). The Mother of Christ is the model of that love which brings forth life for the Kingdom of God without expecting anything in return.
With the protection of Our Lady, may the community of the Pontifical College continue to fulfill its objectives of deep analysis and realization of e3ccclesiastical studies, in the climate of deep priestly communion and high scientific rigor that characterizes it, with a view to realizing that intimate fraternity demanded by the Second Vatican Council "by virtue of your common sacred ordination and your common mission" (Lumen gentium, 28).
That is how pastors are formed - as a reflection of the life of God-Love, one and triune - who serve their brothers with rectitude of intention and total dedication, promoting unity in the Church and the good of all human society.
With these sentiments, I impart to you a special Apostolic Blessing, which I gladly extend to your families, your communities of origin, and those who are collaborating in your formative itinerary during your stay in Rome. Many thanks.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/05/2012 10:36]