What is the Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP)?
The charism of the Institute is the figure of Christ the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10). This charism, which is the origin of our community, has been recognized and given to us by the Church (cf. Decree of Erection). It constitutes our identity and our proper mission: to receive, understand, and exercise the priesthood following the Good Shepherd.
This charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit, manifested in "the mind and designs of the founders regarding the nature, purpose, spirit, and character of an institute, which have been sanctioned by competent ecclesiastical authority, and its sound traditions, all of which constitute the patrimony of the same institute." (can. 578). It is realized in particular through fidelity to the Statutes approved by the Holy See in 2006.
From this charism flows our priestly spirituality, rooted in the Tradition of the Church and focused on the union with Christ the Good Shepherd.
It is developed in these three fundamental areas:
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In the exclusive use of the "traditional Roman rite, contained in the four liturgical books promulgated in 1962" (Statutes I, 2) for all liturgical acts performed by our priests. Our entire ministry is thus centered on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which Christ "lays down his life for his sheep" (Jn 10:11);
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In faithful adherence to the Magisterium, according to the various degrees of its authority and the assent required to each. Our commitment to doctrinal tradition includes a serious and constructive critique of certain recent teachings and reforms, with a view to their authentic reception by the Magisterium. This therefore contributes to ecclesial communion and aims to fulfill the words of the Good Shepherd: "I know my sheep, and my sheep know them" (Jn 10:14), so that they "may have life, and it may be abundant" (Jn 10:10);
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In a pastoral ministry that is always attentive to the real and diverse needs of the faithful: the priest of the Good Shepherd is not a mercenary who "when he sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away" (Jn 10:12), but rather "calls each of his sheep by name" (Jn 10:3). His apostolate is therefore governed by the care of souls, founded and rooted in charity among the members of the community, and in respect for authority.
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This charism, in all these areas, is exercised for the priests of the Institute through a Society of Apostolic Life: as members of this Society, they "pursue the apostolic purpose proper to the society and, leading a life in common as brothers or sisters according to their proper manner of life, strive for the perfection of charity through the observance of the constitutions." (can. 731, §1). Common life within the Institute is therefore an essential element of their call to the priesthood by the Church.
The priests of the Institute of the Good Shepherd live in fidelity to the Church, placing at her service the richness of customs, rites, and practices received from ecclesial tradition. Their commitment allows them to draw from this treasure "things new and things old" (Mt 13:52), with a view to a fruitful contribution to the vitality and mission of the Church today.
What is the particular identity of the priests of the IBP?
The spiritual identity of an IBP priest is that of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Our Lord calls himself such in the Gospel of Saint John: "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:14). The priests of the community seek to resemble most closely this figure of Christ, because they see in it a model of apostolate entirely adapted to the specific mission of the IBP: the liturgical and doctrinal tradition. The image of Christ as a shepherd—that is, as a pastor—is one of the first and most ancient representations of Jesus. It can be found on several occasions in the catacombs of Rome.
Indeed, the Good Shepherd's mission is to gather the last sheep, to console them, to feed them, and to care for them. As God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah: "I will gather the remnant of my flock... and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the Lord." (Jer. 23:3-4)
The Good Shepherd is above all the one who "lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) It is in his sacrifice on the cross that Jesus proves his love for men, offering himself as an innocent victim for their salvation. The priests of the IBP wish to draw from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this spirit of renunciation, generosity and self-giving, for the good of all the "sheep" of Jesus Christ, especially those who are the most distant from the Church. The daily celebration of Mass in the traditional rite allows them to identify each day more with this great work of Christ, in its sacred aspect and its mystical significance.
The Good Shepherd is also the one who "knows his sheep" and whom his sheep know, because they listen to his voice (John 10:27): fidelity to the teaching of Christ, through the voice of his Church, is a necessary condition to touch souls, minds and hearts.
"The Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep, is the perfect model of this essential apostolic life: a spirit of service and of self-forgetting which is like the mystery of Jesus Christ. Each member is aware of being "the useless servant", just as the Institute does not consider itself as an end in itself, but a means at the service of the Church. This authentically apostolic requirement is rooted in boundless charity for the mystery of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The pride of the priests and their boldness in the apostolate will be that of Saint Paul: 'You can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.' (Eph. 3:4)"
— Statutes of the IBP, II, §3
How are IBP priests trained?
In order to be faithful to the charism of the Institute, our future priests are all formed in France, at the seminary of Courtalain, in the diocese of Chartres. The seminarians there receive a complete formation, at once entirely traditional and turned toward the evangelization of the current world, with its own requirements and its own difficulties.
This double ambition is realized by adopting a mode of formation tested by the wisdom of the Church: A rule of community life, and by following a demanding six-year philosophical and theological course under the unifying principles of the doctrine of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The priests in charge of teaching endeavor to transmit to the seminarians the rigor and beauty of divine science, being convicted that adequate answers to the problems of our current age are found only in the wisdom of the great theological tradition of the Church.
Intellectual training is accompanied by a solid course in the humanities, through the study of Latin, Greek, ancient civilizations, ancient and modern history, as well as by the study and practice of secular and religious music. These foundations are enriched through regular guest speakers, who aim to open the minds of future priests on specific issues: art, medicine, psychology, economics, politics and the study of non-Christian religions. In this way, the seminarians are equipped, both humanly and intellectually, to become true pastors who listen to all, faithful without compromise to the doctrine of Christ and of the Church.
The whole formation is, of course, punctuated by a liturgical spirituality which is lived deeply every day, centered on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The constant attendance to the Catholic liturgy aims to give the priest a keen sense of the sacred, a visible love for divine worship, and a true apostolic ardor. Neither sentimental no individualistic, the splendor of the traditional liturgy is the most efficient and most universal means of evangelization.