Introduction - 1. The need for a new Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis

The gift of the priestly vocation, placed by God in the hearts of some men, obliges the Church to propose to them a serious journey of formation. As Pope Francis recalled on the occasion of his address to the Plenary of the Congregation for the Clergy (3 October 2014): “It means guarding and fostering vocations, that they may bear mature fruit. They are ‘uncut diamonds’, to be formed both patiently and carefully, respecting the conscience of the individual, so that they may shine among the People of God”1 It was some thirty years ago – on 19 March 1985 – that the Congregation for Catholic Education, then competent in this matter, proceeded to amend the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis promulgated on 6 January 19702 , above all by updating the footnotes in light of the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law (25 January 1983) Since then there have been numerous contributions on the theme of the formation of future priests, both on the part of the Universal Church and on the part of the Conferences of Bishops and individual particular Churches. It is necessary above all to recall the Magisterium of the Pontiffs who have guided the Church in this time: Saint John Paul II, to whom we owe the ground-breaking Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis (25 March 1992); Benedict XVI, author of the Apostolic Letter ‘motu proprio’ Ministrorum Institutio (16 January 2013); and Francis, whose encouragement and suggestions gave rise to the present document. Pastores Dabo Vobis, in particular, explicitly sets out an integrated vision of the formation of future clerics, taking equal account of all four dimensions that involve the person of the seminarian: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral.

Ministrorum Institutio seeks to show how the formation of seminarians finds a natural continuation in the ongoing formation of priests, so that the two form one single reality. For this reason, Benedict XVI decided to entrust responsibility for initial formation in the Seminary to the Congregation for the Clergy, which was already competent for the ongoing formation of clergy. He amended, therefore, the relevant articles of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus (28 June 1988), and transferred the Office for Seminaries to the Congregation for the Clergy. During his pontificate, Pope Francis has offered a rich Magisterium and a constant personal example regarding the ministry and life of priests, encouraging and supporting the work that has led to this present document. In these years there have been plenty of documents issued by Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, regarding particular aspects of the formation of future priests – the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as well as the Congregation for the Clergy – not to mention the various national formation programmes, many of which have been consulted in the course of this work3 .

The Congregation for the Clergy began preparing the first draft of the present Ratio Fundamentalis in the Spring of 2014. It was sent to some experts and, in particular, to the Members of the Dicastery, in preparation for the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation, which took place from 1 to 3 October 2014. During that Plenary, the text was discussed and commented upon by the Cardinal and Bishop Members, and by the invited experts, who offered proposals and suggestions for the progress of the work. This material was used to draw up a fuller text, enriched by the suggestions received from a number of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, both those with an interest in the question by virtue of their competence (the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches), and those with a previously acquired experience in the field (the Congregation for Catholic Education) During 2015, the text was sent to numerous Conferences of Bishops and Apostolic Nunciatures, in order to seek their opinion and to broaden the scope of the consultation and reflection, so as to include countries in which the Ratio Fundamentalis will be applied, in the spirit of synodality that is so frequently highlighted by Pope Francis. The Congregation for the Clergy also organised an International Conference, held on 19 and 20 November 2015, to mark the 50th anniversary of the conciliar documents Optatam Totius and Presbyterorum Ordinis, during which Cardinals, Bishops, professors, formators and experts offered their own valuable contributions to the discussion of the formation of candidates for Holy Orders. The Congregation for the Clergy, taking into due consideration the contributions received, then prepared a definitive draft. This was examined firstly by some Consultors, and was then presented to a number of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia (the Secretariat of State, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts), in accordance with the spirit of co-responsibility and cooperation that is encouraged by Article 17 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus. At the end of this process of consultation and in light of the suggestions received, a definitive text was drafted, to be placed before Pope Francis for his approval, according to Article 18 of Pastor Bonus.

The journey of priestly formation, beginning with the Seminary years, is described in the present Ratio Fundamentalis in terms of four characteristic elements of formation, understood as one, integral, grounded in community and missionary in spirit. The formation of priests means following a singular ‘journey of discipleship’, which begins at Baptism, is perfected through the other sacraments of Christian Initiation, comes to be appreciated as the centre of one’s life at the beginning of Seminary formation, and continues through the whole of life. Formation – both initial and ongoing – must be seen through a unifying lens, which takes account of the four dimensions of formation proposed by Pastores Dabo Vobis. Together, these dimensions give shape and structure to the identity of the seminarian and the priest, and make him capable of that ‘gift of self to the Church’, which is the essence of pastoral charity. The entire journey of formation must never be reduced to a single aspect to the detriment of others, but it must always be an integrated journey of the disciple called to priesthood. This formation has an eminently communitarian character from the outset. In fact, the vocation to the priesthood is a gift that God gives to the Church and to the world, a path to sanctify oneself and others that should not be followed in an individualistic manner, but must always have as its point of reference a specific portion of the People of God. Such a vocation is discovered and accepted within a community. It is formed in the Seminary, in the context of an educating community, comprised of various members of the People of God. This community leads the seminarian, through ordination, to become part of the ‘family’ of the presbyterate, at the service of a particular community.

With respect to the priest formators, this Ratio Fundamentalis wishes to emphasise that, for the effectiveness of their endeavours, they must consider themselves to be a true formative community. They should act accordingly, sharing a common responsibility, with due regard to the duties and the office entrusted to each member. Since the priest-disciple comes from the Christian community, and will be sent back to it, to serve it and to guide it as a pastor, formation is clearly missionary in character. Its goal is participation in the one mission entrusted by Christ to His Church, that is evangelisation, in all its forms. The fundamental idea is that Seminaries should form missionary disciples who are ‘in love’ with the Master, shepherds ‘with the smell of the sheep’, who live in their midst to bring the mercy of God to them. Hence every priest should always feel that he is a disciple on a journey, constantly needing an integrated formation, understood as a continuous configuration to Christ. Within this single integrated and continuous formation, two phases can be identified, namely initial and ongoing. In this Ratio Fundamentalis, initial formation is divided into various stages: the propaedeutic stage, the study of Philosophy or the discipleship stage; the study of theology or the configurative stage, and the pastoral stage or that of vocational synthesis. Seen in these terms, the journey of formation has developed in several ways since the Ratio Fundamentalis of 1970. Following the experimentation and trial period, begun by the Synod of Bishops of 1990 (VIII General Assembly), the ‘propaedeutic stage’, with its specific identity and formative purpose, is now presented as necessary and mandatory.

As regards the ‘discipleship’ and ‘configuration’ stages, these terms are placed alongside the customary periods of ‘philosophical studies’ and ‘theological studies’, which are intended to last for six years altogether4 Moreover, it should be emphasised that the intellectual dimension, with the prescribed study of philosophy and theology, is not the only factor to be considered when evaluating the journey completed by the seminarian in each stage, and the progress that has been made. Rather the overall discernment by the formators regarding all the aspects of formation will allow only those seminarians to pass on to the next stage who, in addition to having passed the necessary exams, have reached the level of human and vocational maturity required for each stage. Finally, the ‘pastoral stage’, or the ‘stage of vocational synthesis’, is intended to give particular importance to the period between the end of formation in the Seminary and priestly ordination, with the purpose of helping the candidate to acquire the necessary understanding in preparation for it. Discipleship and configuration to Christ, obviously, last throughout life. The terms ‘discipleship stage’ and ‘configuration stage’ are intended to focus attention on two moments of initial formation, on the special attention to be given to the awareness of being disciples, and on the need to understand the call to ministry and priestly life as a continuous configuration to Christ. As for ongoing formation, by its nature this cannot be set out in ready made ‘stages’ For this reason, only certain moments, situations and tools have been mentioned. These may be of help to priests and to those engaged in the task of ongoing formation, so as to experience and to offer concrete initiatives. A further integral part of this Ratio Fundamentalis, as of the 1970 edition, is the Ordo Studiorum. This provides a descriptive list of materials that must included in the course of studies for seminarians, during the various phases, within the wider intellectual formation. It must be applied in its entirety in Seminaries and in those houses of formation that offer the prescribed six years of philosophy and theology courses internally. Such houses of formation, naturally, will also offer the courses of the propaedeutic stage and those which pertain specifically to ministry. Guidelines of various kinds – theological, spiritual, pedagogical, canonical – are offered in the text of this Ratio Fundamentalis, along with actual norms, which mirror those of the Code of Canon Law, and determine more precisely the manner of their application5 Guidelines and norms have not been rigidly separated in the document, though the mandatory or advisory nature of each passage has been made clear. Instead these two elements have been integrated into the document, in order to provide a text enriched by considerations and perspectives of various kinds.

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The Gift of the Priestly Vocation: Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis

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