POSPA: Formation to priestly life, the heart of the commitment of the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle

The care of vocations, of the path of seminarians who are candidates for the priesthood, is part of the founding commitment of the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle (POSPA). This is evidenced not only by the visits to seminaries that are periodically carried out, but also by the training courses for formators such as those organized last September in Burundi and Equatorial Guinea. Father Guy Bognon PSS, secretary general of POSPA, and Fr Alessandro Brandi came from Rome to animate these important training courses, first in Burundi (10 to 13 September) and then in Equatorial Guinea (16 to 21 September). Rectors, bursars, spiritual fathers and professors are the main participants in these courses, which aim to offer a proposal to all those who find themselves in a formative role in seminaries. Conferences and also opportunities for debate and discussion are at the centre of these days. Starting from one of the fundamental documents of the Magisterium, ‘Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis’, Father Bognon and Father Brandi concentrated on analyzing the document and then focused on the various issues, taking into account the local context. Much attention was paid among the formators present to the human dimension, the fragility of young people and the impact of technology and digitalization on young people who are preparing to become priests. “It is fundamental that formation is not improvized,”  they commented. “These courses and these visits are precious opportunities to make formators and seminarians understand in a concrete way that the Church has their formation and their journey at heart, that it supports them not only economically but accompanies them and supports them in their formation”.