Pope Leo XIV has outlined the qualities needed in priests who serve as Vatican diplomats, describing their work as a unique ministry that serves not only Catholics but also the entire human family in individual nations and international organisations. Source: EWTN News.
The Pope made the remarks on Monday during a visit to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the Holy See’s school for training diplomats, on the occasion of the 325th anniversary of its founding.
Leo recalled that a few years earlier, while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he had visited the academy and reflected on “the essential mission carried out by the alma mater of the pontifical diplomats”.
“Today, almost a year after the start of my Petrine ministry, accompanied by the diligent commitment of the Secretariat of State and the pontifical representations,” he said, “I therefore look with deep gratitude upon the history of dedication and service that this joyful anniversary celebrates.”
That history, the Pope said, rooted in the very Catholicity of the Church, has included an unbroken chain of priests from various parts of the world who have contributed “with their humble efforts to the building of that unity in Christ which, amid the diversity of origins, makes communion a fundamental characteristic of the diplomatic service of the Holy See.”
Referring to reforms made to the academy by Pope Francis in March 2025, Leo said the most important reform required of those entering the community is “a constant exercise in conversion, aimed at cultivating ‘closeness, attentive listening, witness, a fraternal approach, and dialogue … combined with humility and meekness.’”
The Pope said the gathering was an opportunity to outline some characteristics of the pontifical diplomatic priest, who participates in the ministry of the successor of Peter and serves peace, truth, and justice.
The Vatican diplomat, he said, “must be, first of all, a messenger of the paschal proclamation ‘Peace be with you!’”
“Even when the hopes for dialogue and reconciliation seem to vanish and peace ‘as the world gives it’ is trampled upon and put to the test,” Leo said, “you are called to continue to bring the word of the risen Christ to all. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’.”
Leo also said the papal diplomat, working in different cultural settings and international organisations, “is specifically assigned to bear witness to the truth that is Christ”.
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Pope Leo XIV: Vatican diplomats must be bridges and channels of peace (By David Ramos, EWTN News)
