Feast of Priesthood and 59° anniversary of priestly ordination of Mons. Claudio Gatti

March 9, 2022

The Feast of Priesthood is celebrated every year by our community in coincidence of the anniversary of priestly ordination (March 9, 1963) of our spiritual father, guide and founder of our community, Mons. Claudio Gatti, Bishop of the Eucharist, Bishop ordained by God. He taught us to love the sacrament of priesthood, and to pray for priests, called by the Mother of the Eucharist "beloved children of God". Although this was his feast, his day, our Bishop always urged us to live it in prayer for the sacrament of the Order, to dedicate and extend it to all priests.

Mons. Claudio Gatti taught us that the gift of priesthood is a God’s act of love, who calls for the collaboration of men to accomplish His plan of salvation. Our spiritual father lived his priestly mission by offering all of himself for the good of the Church and of souls. Here are some of his thoughts on priesthood: "If we want to be imitators of Christ, we shepherds must imitate St. Paul, without seeking polished quotes. What matters is that in my preaching I make Christ grow and go forward and that I diminish and disappear. Christ does not need my culture to be announced. He just wants to borrow my mouth, my heart and my intelligence and only this way the preaching will be strong and effective. Only this way the shepherd, through the action of the Holy Spirit, will manage to bring the community of which he is responsible to those heights of holiness that by human means would not be reached"..

Here are the words of the Mother of the Eucharist that our beloved Bishop always put into practice in his priestly life: "The true priest allows himself to be eaten by the souls, he totally dedicates himself to the souls, he is ready to die for Jesus, for the Mother of the Eucharist and for the souls" (from God's letter of June 14, 2000).