Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests, the year-long focus on priestly ministry begins June 19. Pope Benedict's letter to priests marking the occasion was released by the Vatican June 18.

The Pope said he hoped priests would use the year and its special events to deepen their commitment to their own renewal "for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world." The year also is an occasion to thank the many priests who selflessly give their lives to serving the church and alleviating human suffering and to recognize the sacrifice of priests who courageously minister under the threat of persecution.

Pope Benedict asked people to keep in mind "the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister."

At the same time, he said, "there are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers."

Pope Benedict encouraged priests to use St. John Vianney as a model for their priesthood, recognizing Holy Orders as an incredible gift of God that calls for a renewed commitment each day to living a holy life.

While the sacraments a priest celebrates are valid independently of his personal holiness or worthiness, the Pope said, priests cannot overlook the fact that the closer they draw to Christ and to living as He did, the more effective their ministry will be. The Pope specifically asked the world's priests to focus on learning from St. John Vianney's devotion to the Eucharist and his conviction about the importance of the sacrament of Penance.

His focus on Christ's sacrifice for the sins of the world naturally led to an emphasis on teaching people the importance of confession, the Pope said.

"Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this sacrament," Pope Benedict wrote.

Pope Benedict also said priests must support and encourage each other because only in that way "will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated."

The Pope entrusted the Year for Priests to the Blessed Virgin Mary and asked her "to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the church."