Pope Francis said seminarians and religious men and women need well-rounded formation throughout their lives, not only at the onset of their religious training.
In his prayer intention for the month of May, released on April 30 by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the pope described each vocation as a “diamond in the rough” needing careful and continual cultivation.
Each vocation “needs to be polished, worked, shaped on every side,” Pope Francis said in a video accompanying his message.
He highlighted the need for religious men and women to be well-rounded, both spiritually and as people who are members of a community.
“A good priest, sister or nun must above all else be a man or woman who is formed, shaped by the Lord’s grace,” he said, adding that they must be “people who are aware of their own limitations and willing to lead a life of prayer, of dedicated witness to the Gospel.”