Registrations opened on July 1 for the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, with Benedict XVI being the first participant signed up.

……

Listen to the words of Pope Benedict XVI, encouraging Priests to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel.

Benedict XVI reminded priests of the importance of being good guides during the general audience. He described the spiritual director of San Juan Bosco, Saint Joseph Cafasso as an example.

Are men becoming the second sex? Where is the quest for gender equality taking us? Chrstine B Whelan, from Busted Halo, interviews Damian Wargo, co-founder and director of the King's Men, a men’s ministry group based in Philadelphia, who is an expert on these issues.

Benedict XVI visited cloistered nuns at the Dominican convent of Santa Maria del Rosario where he said the prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. While visiting, the Pope thanked the Sisters for their hidden and often unrecognised work for the Church.

The Irish Province of the Dominicans celebrated a day on the Dominican Priesthood to mark the close the year of the priests.

……

After 27 years of forced labour, Fr Matteo Chu is now a priest in Taiwan, and is happy to be visiting Rome to celebrate the end of the Year for Priests. He appeals and prays for priests in the People’s Republic of China. Read his story in this article!

Pope Benedict XVI has said the Year for Priests helped the Church to grow in gratitude for the gift of the priesthood despite the clerical abuse crisis.

……

Fr Michael de Stoop, parish priest and Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Sydney chatted in depth to Xt3 about celibacy and the priesthood. From Scripture, to Sacred Tradition, to the everyday lived experience, Fr Michael answers all our questions, and truly shares the beauty - and the challenges - of the celibate life.

……

Benedict XVI has ordained fourteen new priests in the Vatican Basilica, inviting them to be consistent and generous in their ministry.