Faith

Friday, May 8, 2026Faith

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... God gives shepherds to His Church, and I ask you to join me in thanking God for the gift of these newest shepherds and all of the new pastors of this year.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

In 1992, St. Pope John Paul II promulgated "Pastores dabo vobis" ("I will give you shepherds"). The exhortation followed upon the 1990 Synod of Priests and drew upon the documents of the Second Vatican Council. It outlined a renewal of seminary formation and summoned all priests to a deepening of the spiritual life and an embrace of that call to be shepherds of the Lord and for the Church.
I thought of that beautiful letter last weekend as I traveled to the installation of a new pastor. I always enjoy these events as they are a moment of promise and new beginnings. The installation is rather simple. It involves commending the new pastor to his people, followed by a simple greeting to and from some of the parish leaders. The most important part of the event is when the new pastor leads his people in the profession of faith and goes on to offer his own oath of fidelity before his people and with his hand on the Gospels.
In the Church's law, we speak of the "Office of Pastor." To be a pastor is more than a job assignment; it is one of the key leadership roles in the life of the Church, and it comes with rights and responsibilities. Given the title, the office is about shepherding the people of God in a given place and the pastor shares in the bishop's charge to govern, teach, and sanctify. In this, the pastors are the most important collaborators of the bishop in building up the Church.

Under that threefold charge of governing, teaching, and sanctifying, the pastor has the sacred duty of placing the Eucharist at the center of parish life and undertaking the custody of the reserved Blessed Sacrament. He is charged to evangelize and to demonstrate a shepherd's tender care for the sick, the poor, and the suffering. He teaches the faith, particularly to the young. He is called to link his people to their bishop and to the Universal Church.
For these reasons, the profession of faith and the oath of fidelity are critically important and spiritually powerful elements of undertaking the office of pastor. The new pastor is not a monarch to shape the community around his own personality or opinions. He has the sacred duty to reassure the people that he is sent to hand on what he has received (cf. 1 Cor 11:23). He is entrusted with the teachings and traditions of the Church and charged to faithfully transmit them to a new generation. His own faith matters in that he cannot offer what he does not possess, but what he offers is not his own. It belongs to the communion of the Church across the world and across the generations. His profession and his oath communicate his humble obedience to the Lord and his sacred commitment to fidelity.
This coming weekend, I will ordain five new priests for ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston. They, too, will make their profession of faith and oath of fidelity before admission to sacred orders. Indeed, God gives shepherds to His Church, and I ask you to join me in thanking God for the gift of these newest shepherds and all of the new pastors of this year. May God give them strength, wisdom, and compassion.

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston