Jun 24, 2009 / 01:31 am
The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy has joined Pope Benedict XVI’s inauguration of the Year for Priests by announcing an international convocation for English-speaking priests in Rome in January 2010.
Pope Benedict’s declaration of the Year for Priests marks the 150th anniversary of St. John Mary Vianney, the patron of parish priests. The Pope intends to deepen all priests’ commitment to interior renewal to improve their witness to the Gospel.
“The Confraternity holds that while individual dioceses sponsor events year round, it is imperative that in the Year for Priests, the clergy themselves take ownership of their spirituality and seek to grow in wisdom and grace to better serve the People of God,” the Confraternity said in a press release.
The Confraternity, a national association of 600 priests and deacons, was founded in 1975 to provide spiritual, theological and pastoral formation for clergy. Their convocation for the Year for Priests will take place Jan. 4-8 in Rome.