While the whole Church is a priestly people, sharing in the priesthood of Christ by their daily sacrifices, prayers and spreading of the Gospel, God calls specific people to serve in his name in the midst of the Church as ordained priests.

In the Catholic Church, all priests are male in an unbroken tradition, dating back to the apostolic period in the New Testament. Just as he called the first apostles to continue his work on earth, Jesus still calls men to lay down their lives in service to his Church as priests. 

‍

The ordained priesthood is the visible sacramental way through which the mission of Christ the Eternal Priest continues, and God's grace is experienced in the world today.

‍

The priesthood is not simply one occupation among many. It is a calling and a way of life through which God invites a man to enter more deeply into relationship with him. 

‍

The priesthood is a life of sacrifice and a life of service because it is the life of Christ.

‍

‍