Abstract:
During his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II addressed in his Encyclicals, Letters and Homilies various issues in the life of the Church. This study is focused on gleaning the theology of ministerial priesthood by John Paul II as found in his 27 Holy Thursday Letters to Priests. An Expository Analytic method is employed: Selected relevant texts dealing with ministerial priesthood in the twenty-seven Holy Thursday Letters to Priests are grouped thematically and analysed. A four-fold matrix is employed so that the ontological, existential, moral or social, and eschatological aspects of priesthood are highlighted. The ontological aspect addresses the identity or essence of priesthood while responding to the question: “What is priesthood?” The existential approach centres on the question: “How is ministerial priesthood experienced or lived?” The moral or social approach focuses on the question: “What does the gift of priesthood demand of those who have received it?” Lastly, the eschatological approach provides the response of John Paul II to the question: “What does the gift of priesthood promise?”
