Vatican City – On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at the conclusion of the General Audience, Pope Leo XIV greeted several clerics gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Among them was Father Miguel Tovar Fernández, a young priest from the Diocese of Cartagena, ordained just one month ago.
When Father Miguel mentioned that he came from the Spanish university city of Murcia, Leo XIV smiled and replied: “Ah, Murcia! Yes, I know it. Let us pray for the young man.” The Pope was referring to a boy he had later visited at the Bambino Gesù Hospital, for whom he had also requested prayers during the Youth Jubilee.
Father Miguel recalls the Pope urging him to never lose the joy of the priesthood – a joy that must be nurtured and preserved through prayer. Upon learning that the young priest’s parents had accompanied him to Rome, Leo XIVpromptly exclaimed: “Are they here? Tell them to come!” Turning to them, he added: “Congratulations for giving a 24-year-old son to the Church.”
A simple yet deeply meaningful encounter, revealing the Pope’s pastoral attentiveness, his memory for places and faces, his closeness to human suffering, and his heartfelt affection for priestly vocations and those who live them.
d.A.S.
Silere non possum