Year for Priests
Pope Benedict XVI has inaugurated a special “Year for Priests” from June 19, 2009 – concluding with a celebration in St. Peter’s Square on June 11, 2010. This year-long celebration offers a unique opportunity for dioceses, parishes, and seminaries to underscore the important resource priests are for the life of the Church. All of us have a responsibility to celebrate, encourage and nurture priests as they face new challenges in the modern world and in the contemporary Church .
Illume collaborates with pastoral and lay leaders to bring priests and laypeople to places of great historical and religious significance as a way to further continuing education, nurture faith, build community and nurture ministry.
National Pilgrimage to Rome - Year for Priests
The National Organization for Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy extends an invitation to priests, bishops and seminarians to join them for a national pilgrimage to Rome to participate in events planned for the culmination of the Year for Priests. Learn more.
Parishioners Support Their Priests
Illume invites lay leaders to sponsor parish pilgrimages that include bringing the parish priests to Rome or other venues as a way to express gratitude for their ministry and support them in their ongoing personal and professional development. Learn more.
Diocesan Sponsored Retreats and Seminars for Priests
Illume collaborates with diocesan leaders to develop continuing education tours and retreats in places conducive to exploring biblical and church history – such as Israel, Turkey, Greece and Rome. These events are important ways to nurture the local presbyterate, build fraternity, and inspire renewed creativity and excitement about ministry. Learn more.
Cultivating the Next Generation of Priests
This world-wide celebration of priesthood is an extraordinary opportunity to help seminarians and those with a vocation for the priesthood to gain an appreciation for the legacy of visionary pastoral leaders who have contributed to the growth and vitality of the Church. Illume invites parishes, chapters of the Serra Club, vocation directors and seminary leaders to include seminarians and young men in programs that will inspire them to commit their lives in service to the Church. Learn more.
Venues
Rome & Italy
Rome offers one of the most natural settings for celebrating and nurturing priests. There are excellent venues for continuing education – exploring early Christian sites and tracing the development of Catholic beliefs, practices, art and architecture. Rome offers moving settings for liturgical celebrations and festive locations for celebratory banquets. Illume develops thoughtful programs that combine educational, spiritual and leisure activities in one of the most satisfying and enriching cities of the world. See sample program.
Israel
Israel is a fitting destination for celebrating the life and ministry of priests as participants have an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and his earliest disciples who were commissioned to carry forth his ministry. Participants gain new insights into the people, places and events of the scripture and return home with a new love for the Word and resources for making it come to life for others.
Other
Other venues for celebrating the Year of the Priesthood include France, Spain, Turkey, Greece. Contact us for sample itineraries.
The way we travel the world is always changing but the reasons remain constant- to become citizens of the world, leading and inspiring respectful and compassionate ways of life. People who travel the globe begin a lifelong journey of worldly citizenship