O Jesus, Eternal Pontiff, Good Shepherd and Fountain of life, who by the special goodness of your Most Sweet Heart, have given us priests to fulfill in us the designs of sanctification which your grace inspires in our hearts, we ask you: come to their aid with the assistance of your mercy.

O Jesus, may they have in their labors a lively faith; in trials an unwavering trust; in their decisions a burning charity. Grant that your Word, the irradiation of the Eternal Wisdom, may become through continuous meditation the never failing nourishment of their interior life. Let the example of your life and passion animate their actions and sustain them in their suffering, so that they may teach, enlighten and comfort us in our sorrows.

Lord, grant our priests the grace of detachment from purely worldly concerns. Let them be first and foremost solicitous for your glory and keep them faithful to their duties.

Keep them pure in conscience till their last breath, so that when death comes to the body, they may place into your hands their mission faithfully accomplished so that they may find in you, Lord Jesus Christ, who on earth were their Master, the prize of the Crown of Justice, in the glory of the saints. Amen.

-Pope Pius XII