Magisterial Documents

Recommended Magisterial Documents for Priestly Formation

Amantissimi Redemptoris: On Priests And The Care Of Souls - Encyclical of Pope Pius IX on May 3, 1858
Haerent Animo: To The Catholic Clergy On Priestly Sanctity - Apostolic Exhortation of Pope St. Pius X on August 4, 1908
Ad Catholici Sacerdotii: On the Catholic Priesthood - Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Dec 20, 1935
Menti Nostrae: On the Development of Holiness in Priestly Life - Apostolic Exhortation To The Clergy Of The Entire World of Bl. Pope Pius XII on Sept. 23, 1950
Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia: On St. John Vianney and the Priesthood - Encyclical of Bl. Pope John XXIII on Aug 1, 1959
Presbyterorum Ordinis: Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests of Second Vatican Council on December 7, 1965
Sacerdotalis Caelibatus: On The Celibacy of the Priest - Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on June 24, 1967
Pastores Dabo Vobis: Apostolic Exhortation On the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day of Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1992
Directory On The Ministry And Life Of Priests: Congregation for the Clergy on March 31, 1994
The Priest and Confession: Excerpt, Apostolic Exhortation "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia", Pope John Paul II on Feb. 12, 1984.
"The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community": Congregation for the Clergy on Aug. 4, 2002