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Catholic medical school at Benedictine College seeks accreditation, eyes 2027 opening

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Courtesy photo. / null

CNA Staff, Mar 23, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A new Catholic, osteopathic medical school that will be housed on the campus of Benedictine College hopes to open in the fall of 2027, the project’s founding president told CNA this week. 

Dr. George Mychaskiw, an osteopath and a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, told CNA that the school in February completed its application to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, the body designated by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit programs that grant the doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree. 

The planned school, first announced last September and dubbed the St. Padre Pio Institute for the Relief of Suffering, will adhere to Ex Corde Ecclesiae, St. John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution on the mission of Catholic colleges and universities. 

It will be housed on the campus of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, but as a separate institution. The school aims for “candidate status” by December 2025, with classes beginning during fall 2027. (Legally, because of the accreditation process, the school cannot yet advertise for or accept prospective students, Mychaskiw noted.)

The Catholic medical school will aim to “emphasize that all life is equal and equally worthy and equally precious from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death,” the DO said. The school aims to train new doctors — who will, upon graduation, practice in a world replete with moral challenges — in Catholic bioethics, morality, and theology.

“We’ll be the only medical school in the world that is under the apostolic doctrine of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which will make it the most faithful Catholic medical school, we believe, in the world, certainly in the United States … the most pro-life, the most pro-family medical school in the country,” he said.

There are several dozen osteopathic medical schools in the U.S., which teach almost one-third of U.S. medical students. There are a handful of Catholic osteopathic schools. The first opened in 2013 at the Indianapolis-based Marian University, a Franciscan institution.

The training process for osteopathic doctors is rigorous, and about 11% of practicing physicians in the U.S. are DOs and a quarter of all medical students are studying to become DOs, the accrediting body says.

Mychaskiw has founded several secular medical schools across the country. He said the osteopathic profession’s emphasis on treating the whole person rather than the specific disease or symptoms at hand make it a good fit for a Catholic medical school. 

“Osteopathic physicians believe that a person is a mind, body, and spirit, and you can’t treat one without affecting everything else. And our job is not so much to treat disease as to find health and wellness,” he explained. 

Beyond that, Mychaskiw said, the faithful environment of Benedictine College, where spiritual support from the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey is readily available, will be a boon for medical students, who frequently suffer high rates of stress and burnout on the path toward their degree. 

“We know a lot of stories of young students that come in and get broken by the system. They suffer from stress and anxiety and depression,” he noted. 

“We believe a supportive, faithful environment in a joyful and loving atmosphere of faith will provide a better learning experience and make these people better physicians and more comfortable and joyful in their work.”

The school will accept all students, regardless of their religion, but the school will have “a Catholic-based code of conduct by which they will have to adhere.” The school plans to participate in federally guaranteed student loan programs, at least under current guidelines.

“If in the future, criteria change and the federal government put mandates on the school that would be in contrast or contrary to its Catholic orientation, then we’re ready to forgo federal student loans,” Mychaskiw noted, adding that it is “very easy for medical students to get private loans outside of the federal Title IV system.”

The involvement of Catholic bishops — including Cardinal Raymond Burke, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann — and clergy on the board of trustees underscores the school’s commitment to maintaining its Catholic identity, Mychaskiw said, while at the same time the school plans to welcome students of diverse backgrounds and faiths.

Mychaskiw said they have explored the possibility of building a new, 100,000-square-foot building on Benedictine’s campus as well as the repurposing of existing buildings. Collaboration with Benedictine College’s school of architecture is planned, he said, to ensure the new building’s design aligns with the college’s architectural style and functional requirements.

“It’s very hard to overstate the importance of the project. It’s just a matter of the practicalities of getting the money together,” he said, noting that it is “about a $120 million project.”

‘It’s a minor miracle’: Parishioners purchase historic church from Pennsylvania diocese 

The exterior of St. Joseph's in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. / Credit: Paula Kydoniefs

CNA Staff, Mar 23, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A group of parishioners in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, is celebrating this month after acquiring a historic church from the diocese and preserving it as a chapel and place of worship.

The Society of St. Joseph of Bethlehem (SSJB) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, announced earlier this month that the society had purchased St. Joseph’s Church, which opened more than a century ago, from the Allentown Diocese.

“The desire to preserve the church by former parishioners has been steadfast since the church was closed in 2008,” the society’s board said in a letter announcing the purchase. “It has taken time and energy over the years to enter into an agreement with the Diocese of Allentown.”

On its Facebook page, the SSJB says its mission is “to restore and preserve St. Joseph’s Church as a sacred place of worship and a testament to the history and cultural heritage” of the area.

Lina Tavarez, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said the parish ”was closed in 2008 because of a merger of several local parishes.”

“It hosted only one regular Mass per year — on the feast day of St. Joseph — and was available for funerals for former parishioners,” she said.

The Mass of the solemnity of St. Joseph at St. Joseph's Parish in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Credit: Susan Vitez
The Mass of the solemnity of St. Joseph at St. Joseph's Parish in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Credit: Susan Vitez

Paula Kydoniefs, the president of the board of directors of SSJB, told CNA that the group was established “solely for the purpose of buying this church, taking care of it, and sponsoring events.” The church, historically attended by the local Slovenian/Windish community, had its cornerstone laid in 1914 and fully opened in 1917.

Kydoniefs explained that the decision to purchase the property originated several years ago, during a period when the diocese was in the process of merging local parishes.

“In 2008 they were consolidating, and this was one of five churches that was being closed as a parish,” she said. “St. Joseph’s parishioners fought that and appealed it and ended up taking it to the Vatican.”

The Vatican eventually ordered that the parish remain open for use, Kydoniefs said. In 2011 then-Bishop John Barres “gave the parish the ability to have an annual Mass and have funerals of former parishioners.”

The cornerstone at St. Joseph's Parish in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Credit: Dimitri Kydoniefs
The cornerstone at St. Joseph's Parish in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Credit: Dimitri Kydoniefs

The church was used “only occasionally” in this capacity, Tavarez told CNA. In 2023 the diocese moved again to sell the church.

“We went back to the diocese,” Kydoniefs said. “It’s a minor miracle. It was last-minute.”

“They had already announced they were going to sell it. They could have just told us no,” she said. “But, credit to them, they said: ‘If you can come up with $175,000 quickly, you can purchase it.’”

Kydoniefs said “several minor miracles and maybe major miracles” followed, with a benefactor — the James Stocklas Family Trust — quickly coming forward to donate “the whole $175,000.”

“Financially we’re independent, and we’re totally responsible for the care and upkeep and maintenance of the church,” Kyondiefs said.

“According to canon law, it’s a chapel,” she said. “It’s still a Catholic church, it’s still affiliated with the diocese in that way. The diocese has the jurisdiction over what public worship services we can do there.” 

“They’ve told us that we must have two Masses a year, one on the feast day of St. Joseph [March 19] and one on Oct. 28, the anniversary of the consecration of the church,” she added. 

Presently the church is not suited for occupancy, Kydoniefs said, with inspectors finding several code deficiencies in need of updating. Regulators did work with the community to develop a stopgap mitigation plan that allowed the church to celebrate St. Joseph’s feast day on March 19. 

The church “does need a lot of work,” she admitted, but she said the SSJB is prepared to see the building restored and utilized for regular community and religious events “at least monthly.” 

“We’ve got a lot of ideas,” she said. “We really want to see this church being used again.” 

In a letter issued upon the church’s reopening, meanwhile, the SSJB wrote that “as heartbreaking as it was a year ago, to hear that our cherished St. Joseph’s Church was to be permanently closed and sold on the open market, we now experience the opposite — hearts filled with joy and thanksgiving!”

“To the St. Joseph’s Church community,” the letter said, “welcome home!”

Synodal standoff: German bishops and Vatican commit to resolution roadmap

View of the Vatican from the Tiber / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Mar 23, 2024 / 05:30 am (CNA).

The Vatican and the German bishops have announced they will work together to resolve the controversial German Synodal Way. 

In a joint press release, the two parties on March 22 said further meetings would “develop concrete forms of synodality in the Church in Germany, which are in accordance with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, the requirements of canon law, and the results of the world Synod, and which will subsequently be submitted to the Holy See for approval.”

According to the press release by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the Holy See on Friday evening, the meeting lasted “the entire day.” It was characterized by “a positive and constructive atmosphere.”

The press release continued: “It was possible to discuss some of the open theological questions raised in the documents of the Synodal Way of the Catholic Church in Germany,” saying “differences and points of agreement were identified.”

“A regular exchange” between German bishops and the Vatican “on the further work of the Synodal Way and the Synodal Committee” was agreed. 

The next meeting is to take place before the summer.

Friday’s statement did not mention the German Synodal Council by name, and it is unclear whether this controversial project has now been scuppered, suspended, or could ultimately be submitted to the Holy See for approval.

On the Vatican’s side, the participants were the prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith (Victor Fernández), for Promoting Christian Unity (Kurt Koch), for Bishops (Robert Prevost), for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (Arthur Roche), and for Legislative Texts (Filippo Iannone). 

Bishops Georg Bätzing, Stephan Ackermann, Michael Gerber, Peter Kohlgraf, Bertram Meier, and Franz-Josef Overbeck represented the German Bishops’ Conference.

The Synodal Way — “Synodaler Weg,” sometimes called Synodal Path — is not a synod. The event brought together Germany’s bishops and selected laypeople to debate and pass resolutions based on a 2018 sexual abuse study.

Participants have voted in favor of draft documents calling for the priestly ordination of women, same-sex blessings, and changes to Church teaching on homosexual acts.

How to obtain a plenary indulgence during Holy Week 2024

Holy Week / Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Mar 23, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized.

A plenary indulgence can be obtained during Holy Week for oneself or for a deceased person if one of the following works established by the Church is performed.

Holy Thursday — March 28, 2024

1. If during the solemn reservation of the Blessed Sacrament (typically on a side altar), which follows the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, you recite or sing the Eucharistic hymn “Tantum Ergo.”

2. If you adore the solemnly reserved Blessed Sacrament for a half hour.

Good Friday — March 29, 2024

1. If you venerate the cross in the solemn celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

2. If you piously participate in the Stations of the Cross.

Holy Saturday — March 30, 2024

1. If two or more people pray the holy rosary.

2. If you attend the celebration of the Easter Vigil at night and renew your baptismal promises, which is part of the liturgy of that Mass.

Conditions in all cases

In order to obtain the plenary indulgence, in addition to performing the specific works mentioned above, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.

 2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

A single sacramental confession is sufficient for several plenary indulgences, but frequent sacramental confession is encouraged in order to obtain the grace of deeper conversion and purity of heart.

For each plenary indulgence that is sought, however, a separate holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required.

The prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father is left up to the choice of the individual, but an Our Father and Hail Mary are suggested.

This story was originally published on CNA on April 11, 2022, and was updated March 20, 2024.

U.S. Bishops’ President and Chairman of International Justice and Peace Issue Holy Week Call to Prayer for an End to the Israel-Hamas War

WASHINGTON – Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace call on the faithful to renew their prayers during Holy Week for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

“As the Church enters Holy Week and Christ’s suffering on the cross and his resurrection are made present to us so vividly, we are connected to the very source of hope. It is that hope that spurs us to call on Catholics here in the United States and all those of good will to renew their prayers for an end to the raging Israel-Hamas war.

“Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop. As the Holy Father recently said, ‘One cannot move forward in war. We must make every effort to negotiate, to negotiate, to end the war.’ To move forward, a cease fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence is absolutely necessary. To move forward, those held hostage must be released and civilians must be protected. To move forward, humanitarian aid must reach those who are in such dire need.  

“As Christians, we are rooted in the hope of the resurrection, and so we pray for a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land.”  

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Discernment is essential to discipleship, papal preacher says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Holy Spirit is like a line prompter at a theater, behind the scenes and constantly whispering to Christians the words of Jesus, said the preacher of the papal household.

"However, he does not mechanically suggest the words of the Gospel, like from a script, but explains them, adapts them and applies them to specific situations," Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa told Pope Francis, cardinals and members of the Roman Curia.

Concluding his series of Friday Lenten meditations March 22, Cardinal Cantalamessa insisted that listening to the Holy Spirit and discerning what the Spirit is saying to individuals and to the church at large is an exercise essential to following Jesus.

"We don't start out knowing the concrete path of holiness God wants for each of us," he said. "God reveals it step by step, so it is not enough to have a well-crafted plan and then follow it. There is no model of perfection that is identical for everyone."

God does not produce saints with a cookie cutter -- "God does not like cloning," he said. "Every saint is an original invention of the Spirit."

Faith, for a Christian, is not just a belief or even a feeling of love for the Lord, the cardinal said, it is a call to follow Jesus concretely in the way one lives and shares in the mission of the church.

And that, too, is different for each person, he said.

Cardinal Cantalamessa leads Lenten meditation
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, gives a Lenten meditation to Pope Francis, cardinals, members of the Roman Curia and Vatican employees in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 22, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

A person comes to understand their unique call through prayer, meditating on Scripture, speaking with a spiritual guide and following the teaching of the church, he said. But especially important are the promptings and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which also give the person "the necessary strength and often the joy to accomplish it if the person consents."

Of course, Cardinal Cantalamessa said, understanding that call requires discernment, which is not as easy as judging something as good or bad.

"The most delicate problem about inspirations has always been to discern those that come from the Spirit of God from those that come from the spirit of the world or from your own passions or from the evil spirit," he said.

Jesus told his disciples that a true or false prophecy can be judged by the fruit it produces, the cardinal said, which is a helpful thing to keep in mind as the universal church continues to grow in the process of synodality and its encouragement to listen and pray together to discover the promptings of the Holy Spirit for sharing the Gospel today.

"In the moral field," Cardinal Cantalamessa said, "a fundamental criterion is the Spirit's coherence with itself. One cannot ask for something that is contrary to divine will as expressed in the Scriptures, in the teaching of the church and in the obligations of one's own state in life. A divine inspiration will never ask one to do something the church considers immoral."

"The flesh," he said, tries to make its own arguments and sometimes they sound good, "for example, that God is love and everything that is done for love is from God."

St. Ignatius of Loyola taught that "what comes from the Spirit of God brings with it joy, peace, tranquility, sweetness, simplicity, light. What comes from the spirit of evil, instead, brings with it disturbance, agitation, anxiety, confusion, darkness," he said.

"But it is true that in practice things are more complex," he said. "Inspiration can come from God, and despite that, cause great disturbance. But this is not due to the inspiration, which is sweet and peaceful like everything that comes from God. Rather it is born from resistance to the inspiration or from the fact that we are not ready to do what we are asked to do."

However, he said, "if inspiration is accepted, the heart will soon find itself in a deep peace. God rewards every little victory in this area by making the soul feel its approval, which is the most beautiful thing, the purest joy that exists in this world."

 

Pope urges the church to see the face of Christ in migrants

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church can draw closer to Jesus by accompanying migrants in their pursuit of a better life, Pope Francis said.

In the faces of migrants, the church "discovers the face of Christ," he wrote, and like St. Veronica who offered a cloth to wipe Jesus' face during his passion, the church "brings relief and hope on the 'Way of the Cross' of migration."

The pope wrote his comments in a letter March 21 to participants at a meeting between bishops, church officials and migrants in Lajas Blancas, Panama, near the Darién Gap jungle crossed by thousands of migrants each day. The meeting took place during a three-day conference organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for bishops from Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to discuss accompanying migrants.

Migrant brothers and sisters "represent the suffering flesh of Christ" since they are "forced to leave their land, to face the risks and tribulations of a hard road without finding another way out," Pope Francis wrote in his message to the group.

Bishops and other members of the church who support migrants "are the face of a mother church that walks with her sons and daughters," he wrote.

Pope Francis at his weekly general audience
Pope Francis makes brief remarks at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 20, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis urged the migrants to "never forget about your human dignity," and encouraged them to "not be afraid to look others in the eye, because you are not discarded, but you form part of the human family and the family of God's children."

"I also am the son of migrants who left in search of a better future," the pope told them, referencing his upbringing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the child of Italian immigrants. "There were times when they were left with nothing, even starving, with their hands empty but their hearts full of hope."

The meeting of church officials and migrants took place outside of the Darién Gap jungle that straddles the Panama-Colombia border. Record numbers of migrants have risked their lives to cross the Darién Gap in recent months, subjected to rampant extortion, physical abuse and sexual violence by criminal gangs. More than 500,000 people crossed the gap in 2023, according to data published by the Panamanian government.

In a message to the bishops a day earlier, Pope Francis had written that the church's pastors must break free from indifference in addressing the crisis of forced migration across the Americas and that every migrant challenges Christians to embrace a spirit of hospitality.

 

Five Parish Priests from the United States to Participate in International Meeting of Priests in Rome

This release has been edited with updated information provided to USCCB Public Affairs by the USCCB’s synod team.

 

WASHINGTON – Last month, the Holy See announced a global gathering of parish priests as part of the Synod on Synodality to be held this spring in Rome. “Parish Priests for the Synod: An International Meeting,” will be held April 28-May 2.

At the request of the Holy See, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was asked to submit a list of five priests who have been participating in synodality in their local parishes to send to the meeting. Per the guidelines of the Vatican’s General Secretariat of the Synod, the USCCB selected four Latin Rite priests, and one Eastern Catholic priest to represent the United States. In consultation with the local bishop, the priests were selected based on the parameters set forth by the Synod Secretariat, including levels of engagement with the Synod, and in consultation with the USCCB’s Executive Committee.

For more information on the meeting, please visit: https://www.synod.va/en/news/parish-priests-for-the-synod.html.

The following priests were selected to participate:

  • Rev. Artur Bubnevych
    Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix
    Pastor, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church (Albuquerque, N.M.)
     
  • Rev. Joseph Friend
    Diocese of Little Rock
    Pastoral Administrator, Holy Cross Church (Crossett, Ark.), Holy Spirit Church (Hamburg, Ark.), and Our Lady of the Lake Church (Lake Village, Ark.)
     
  • Rev. Luis Navarro
    Diocese of Stockton
    Pastor, St. George Church (Stockton, Calif.)
     
  • Rev. Donald J. Planty, Jr.
    Diocese of Arlington
    Pastor, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (Arlington, Va.)
     
  • Rev. William Swichtenberg
    Diocese of Green Bay
    Pastor, St. Mary’s Parish (Appleton, Wis.)

 

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At audience, pope looks at virtue of prudence, prays for peace

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "War is always a defeat," Pope Francis said, urging people at his general audience to pray that leaders in war-torn nations would have the courage to negotiate for peace.

"We must make every effort to discuss, to negotiate to end war. Let's pray for this," the pope said at the end of the audience in St. Peter's Square March 20.

Although he began the audience by telling the visitors and pilgrims that he was still unable to read his full speech and would have an aide read it for him, Pope Francis took the microphone at the end of the gathering to greet Italian speakers and to pray for "the populations of the tormented Ukraine and the Holy Land -- Palestine and Israel -- who suffer so much from the horror of war."

Continuing his series of audience talks about virtues and vices, the pope's text said virtues have never been the concern of Christians alone, but "belong to the heritage of ancient wisdom."

The pope's main text focused on the virtue of prudence, which is not caution or hesitancy, he wrote.

"The prudent person is creative. He or she reasons, evaluates, tries to understand the complexity of reality and does not allow him- or herself to be overwhelmed by emotions, idleness, pressures and illusions," the text said.

St. Thomas Aquinas, the pope noted, described prudence as "right reason in action."

"In a world dominated by appearances, by superficial thoughts, by the triviality of both good and bad," he wrote, people need to cultivate the virtue of prudence to direct their actions toward what is good for themselves and for others.

Pope Francis laughs with a visitor
Pope Francis shares a laugh with a visitor as they hold hands at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 20, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

If life were always easy, the pope's text said, prudence would not be necessary, "but in the midst of the wind and waves of daily life it is another matter; often we are uncertain and do not know which way to go. The prudent do not choose by chance: first of all, they know what they want, then they weigh up the situation, seek advice and with a broad outlook and inner freedom, they choose which path to embark upon."

Prudence is especially important for people who govern or are in other positions of authority, he wrote, because they must listen to different points of view and "try to harmonize them," working for the good of all.

The Gospel of Matthew says that before Jesus sent his disciples on mission, he tells them to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves," the Pope Francis wrote. The passage indicates that "God does not only want us to be saints, he also wants us to be intelligent saints, because without prudence, it just takes a moment to make a wrong turn."

 

Pope entrusts war-torn regions to St. Joseph

Pope entrusts war-torn regions to St. Joseph

A look at Pope Francis' general audience March 20.

In a hostile world, the vocation of Christians is to hope, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Though the global situation risks plunging people into pessimism, Christians are called to pursue their vocation of becoming "men and women of hope," Pope Francis said.

"As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charisms and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope in a world marked by epochal challenges," the pope wrote in his message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations April 21.

Global challenges such as war, migration, rising poverty rates and climate change, in addition to personal difficulties encountered daily, "risk plunging us into resignation or defeatism," the pope wrote in the message released March 19. He encouraged Christians to instead "cultivate a gaze full of hope and work fruitfully in response to the vocation we have received, in service to God's kingdom of love, justice and peace."

To be "pilgrims of hope and builders of peace" means "to base our lives on the rock of Christ's resurrection, knowing that every effort made in the vocation that we have embraced and seek to live out will never be in vain," the pope wrote.

Pursuing a vocation, he explained, is not an imposed duty but rather "the surest way for us to fulfill our deepest desire for happiness."

A young person prays the Stations of the Cross.
A young person prays the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis during World Youth Day at Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

"Our life finds fulfillment when we discover who we are, what our gifts are, where we can make them bear fruit, and what path we can follow in order to become signs and instruments of love, generous acceptance, beauty and peace wherever we find ourselves," he wrote.

The pope expressed his gratitude for the "hidden efforts" of those who consistently respond to their calls in life, namely parents, workers, consecrated men and women and priests, and he urged young people to make room for Jesus in their lives in order to discover their vocation.

"Let Jesus draw you to himself; bring him your important questions by reading the Gospels; let him challenge you by his presence, which always provokes in us a healthy crisis," he told young people.

The pope also highlighted the "synodal character" of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, noting how "amid the variety of our charisms, we are called to listen to one another and to journey together in order to acknowledge them and to discern where the Spirit is leading us for the benefit of all."

Pope Francis blesses a rosary.
Pope Francis blesses a rosary as he greets visitors at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Feb. 7, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis encouraged people to prepare for the Holy Year 2025 by engaging in the current year of prayer, in which "all of us are called to rediscover the inestimable blessing of our ability to enter into heartfelt dialogue with the Lord and thus become pilgrims of hope."

Prayer, he added, "is more about listening to God than about talking to him."

The pope called on Christians to "open the doors of the prison in which we so often enclose ourselves, so that each of us can discover his or her proper vocation in the Church and in the world."

"Let us be passionate about life and commit ourselves to caring lovingly for those around us in every place where we live," he wrote.