“A fascinating adventure, whose engine is the heart”: this is how Pope Leo XIV defined the priestly vocation as he addressed the four thousand seminarians gathered Tuesday, June 24, in St. Peter's Basilica on the occasion of the Jubilee dedicated to them. Enthusiastically acclaimed upon his arrival, the Pontiff encouraged them to become “bridges and not obstacles”, witnesses of hope and proclaimers of the Word, serving an open and missionary Church. In a society marked by conflict and individualism, he stressed the importance of cultivating the inner life and not fearing one's wounds, from which compassion for those who suffer can arise. Prayer, he said, is the way to know God and self, even in a world distracted by technology. He then called for deep discernment, away from hypocrisy and superficiality, and to live the present with passion and a prophetic heart. At the end, Leo XIV greeted those present amid applause, handshakes and moved looks. It was an intense moment that many seminarians experienced as a decisive stage in their vocational journey.