I will give you shepherds after my own heart (Jer 3:15). To become a true shepherd in Christ Jesus for the People of God: this is the deep desire of every priest. This desire becomes a reality in the daily ministry of a priest, but even more so when he is called to become the shepherd of a Christian community. To be chosen by the bishop for such a responsibility requires a daily response to Christ's question: " Do you love me? (Jn 21:15-17), as well as the acquisition of practical skills that will serve in the effective realization of the pastoral mission. 

The Archdiocese of Montreal, through the Office of Pastoral Personnel, organized a series of three meetings for its newly ordained priests and for those who, having recently arrived from another local Church, might be called upon to take responsibility for a Christian community in the Archdiocese. 

The aim of these three meetings was to enable those who are new parish priests, those who have just arrived from abroad and those who may eventually become parish priests, to acquire the tools they need to carry out the mission of being responsible for a Christian community in a more fulfilling and fruitful way. 

The aim of these three meetings was to enable those who are new parish priests, those who have just arrived from abroad and those who may eventually become parish priests, to acquire the tools they need to carry out the mission of being responsible for a Christian community in a more fulfilling and fruitful way. 

These meetings help our priests to perfect their pastoral and theological knowledge, strengthen their spiritual life and share their apostolic experiences with their brothers (cf. Vatican II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 19). 

These meetings also provide an opportunity to get to know the various diocesan services better, and to gain a more complete picture of the Archdiocese of Montreal. 

The meetings took place at the Archdiocese of Montreal: 

• Wednesday, February 28, 2024 
• Wednesday, March 13, 2024 
• Wednesday, April 10, 2024 

Thank you to the priests who contributed to this training session by giving presentations, and to all those who were invited and participated. We pray that these meetings will bear much fruit in the Montreal diocesan Church.