I Will Give You Shepherds

The post-synodal apostolic exhortation 'on the formation of priests in the circumstances of the present day', dated 25 March 1992, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. It follows the 1990 Synod of Bishops, which met on priestly formation. Its title is God's promise in Jeremiah: 'I will give you shepherds after my own heart'. The six chapters begin with the situation of the present day and its challenges to the priesthood, then turn to the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood, configured to Christ the Head and Shepherd, and to the spiritual life of the priest, including the evangelical counsels and celibacy. A chapter on vocation, 'Come and see', treats the pastoral care of vocations. The fifth and longest chapter, 'He appointed twelve to be with him', sets out the four areas of formation (human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral), the setting of formation in the seminary, and the people responsible for it. The sixth, 'I remind you to rekindle the gift of God', treats the ongoing formation of priests after ordination.