Vocations Office of the Diocese of Kalamazoo

Papal and Magisterial Documents on the Priesthood

• Church Fathers

  • ​Saint John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood

• The Council of Trent and the Catechism of the Council of Trent

  • The ​Council of Trent, Session 23, On the Priesthood

  • The Catechism of the Council of Trent, On the Sacrement of Holy Orders

• Blessed Pius IX

  • On Priests And The Care Of Souls, Amantissimi Redemptoris, May 3, 1858

• Saint Pius X

  • To The Catholic Clergy On Priestly Sanctity, Haerent Animo, August 4, 1908

• Pius XI

  • On the Catholic Priesthood, Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, Dec 20, 1935

• The Venerable Pius XII

  • On the Development of Holiness in Priestly Life, Menti Nostrae, Sept. 23, 1950

• Saint John XXIII

  • On St. John Vianney and the Priesthood, Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia, Aug 1, 1959

• The Second Vatican Council

  • Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, December 7, 1965

  • Decree on Priestly Training, Optatum Totius, October 28, 1965

• The Servant of God, Paul VI

  • On The Celibacy of the Priest, Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, June 24, 1967

• Saint John Paul II

  • On the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day, Pastores Dabo Vobis, March 25, 1992

  • The Priest and Confession, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, Feb. 12, 1984

  • Holy Thursday Letters to Priests

• ​The Catechism of the Catholic Church

  • ​On the Sacrament of Holy Orders

• Congregation for Clergy

  • Directory On The Ministry And Life Of Priests, June 13, 2013

  • The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community, Aug. 4, 2002