No. 1545 recalls what St.Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church, said in his commentary on the Letter to the Hebrews, where he affirms: “And therefore only Christ is the true priest; the rest are his ministers.” A Doctor of the Church is that saint who, due to his erudition and importance, is an important teacher of the faith for the Catholic faithful of all times.
Also in the catechism, No. 1546 states that Christ is "Priest, Prophet and King.”
No. 1548 establishes that "in the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth.
In May 2014, when presiding at the ordination of 13 priests, Pope Francis said that they were "configured to Christ, High and Eternal Priest, that is, they will be consecrated as true priests of the New Testament."
"And with this title that unites them to their bishop in the priesthood, they will be preachers of the Gospel, shepherds of the people of God and will preside at acts of worship, especially the celebration of the Lord's sacrifice," he added.
In April 2016, Pope Francis ordained 11 priests. He told them that "our High Priest, Jesus Christ, chose some disciples who in the Church would carry out, on his behalf, the priestly office for the good of men."
"The Lord Jesus wanted to choose some in particular from among his disciples, so that, by publicly exercising in the Church in his name the priestly office for all men, they would continue his personal mission as teacher, priest and shepherd," the pope added.
This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language sister news agency. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com