John Paul II has established that on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart the Church will observe the World Day of prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

Annual Day of Prayer for Priests

In 2002, the Catholic Church announced a special annual world priest day, a day of prayer for the sanctification of priests to be held on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The 2008 World Day of Prayer for Priests has been a tremendous success. We are most grateful to all who participated in making this day such a special gift to our 400,000 priests worldwide.

We are now especially interested in receiving messages from lay people young and old alike, to be viewed on line. We also ask priests to share their stories of ministry with their brother priests and the lay people of the world on line.

We strongly encourage each and every one of the faithful to begin if not already doing so to pray for our priests, today, this day this very moment, in preparation through prayer, celebration of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, so that June 19 2009 will be an even greater celebration of the priesthood of Jesus Christ worldwide.

Who we are

We are a group of committed Catholic Communication /Advertising laypeople, who love and cherish the priesthood of Jesus Christ, we have set up this website to facilitate the World Day of Prayer for Priests. It is our prayer that this website may be a gateway to a deeper understanding of the priesthood of Christ as exercised by our priests, a priesthood in which, by virtue of our baptism, we all share.

We affirm our Priests

It is timely that we express our appreciation to so many priests who are indeed a daily reflection of Christ's love for his people. We wish to express our love for our priests and provide them with the support and encouragement they deserve. We express great joy in affirming and encouraging our priests as the servants of God's people. We are also encouraging people around the world to stop whatever they are doing at 3pm local time and spend a quiet moment praying in thanksgiving for our priests and contemplating the gift of priesthood.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

Together with you, we wish to thank God for our priests and pray that they may be holy and competent pastors, capable of leading even in the complex and difficult times we live in. We pray for them that their faith may not fail, that they may feel themselves surrounded by the caring love of their people and of the whole church.

The meaning of Priesthood

We wish to bring into focus the true meaning of the priesthood as the means by which Christ is present among his people. We wish to promote an understanding of the immense dignity and beauty of the vocation of the ministerial priesthood in all its fullness and variety.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart

The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has not been chosen without good reason. It is the feast of the humanity of God incarnate. It reveals to us the very heart of Jesus, beating with love for all people of all times. Priests are called to listen to that heartbeat and become ‘other Christs’ among God’s people. They truly need our prayers as we need theirs.