Patriarch of Jerusalem ordains 4 priests from Neocatechumenal Way

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, ordained four priests trained at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Galilee — part of the Neocatechumenal Way — on Saturday, June 6, at the Church of the Twelve Apostles within the Domus Galilaeae International Center.

At this significant site of the Neocatechumenal Way on the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee in the Holy Land, the cardinal conferred priestly ordination upon Francisco Hurtado Cárdenas (Colombia), José Pablo Morera Mesén (Costa Rica), Adolfo René De León Salguero (Guatemala), and David Sotgiu (Italy).

In his homily, Pizzaballa highlighted the providential nature of the date — the eve of Corpus Christi — and emphasized that “there is no Eucharist without a priest, nor a priest without the Eucharist.” The Italian cardinal also stressed that “love cannot be locked within itself; it must be communicated, it must become a gift,” according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The cardinal also emphasized that the priesthood is not a personal possession but a received gift that must be safeguarded. “If you keep it for yourselves, it will be stifled; it must always become a gift,” he warned the new priests.

Pizzaballa also encouraged the new priests to remember “what the Lord has done for you,” so that they do not forget the journey they have traveled or the people who have supported and accompanied them.

He also emphasized that a priest must lead people to an encounter with Christ through his witness and by helping communities live out the faith as something vibrant within the Church.

At the end of the homily, the patriarch highlighted both the beauty and the demanding nature of serving the Church in Jerusalem — a small, complex reality wounded by many situations. “Here, it is necessary to go to the very depths, to live the life of God to the fullest, right where the Word became incarnate and became tangible and real,” he emphasized.

In June of last year, in the same church, Pizzaballa conferred priestly ordination upon John Oscar Nuñez (Philippines), Giacomo Pagliariccia (Italy), and Lucas Solbach (France), who were also trained at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Galilee.