This work provides an overview of the difficulties that Catholic priests have experienced in history as a background for offering a vision for the renewal of the priesthood in our own era.

The Catholic priesthood has faced many daunting challenges in every historical era. Archbishop Emeritus Hughes draws on the Church's past efforts to foster renewal in the priesthood to help with the renewal needed today. The author addresses directly the current issues arising from the clergy sex abuse scandal, COVID-19, the financial disruption, and racial unrest.

Most contemporary books on the ordained priesthood are either theological treatises on the nature of this priesthood, or exhortations to living priestly life and ministry more fully. This book traces the development of priestly discipleship and spirituality in the face of historical challenges, and draws on this history to spell out a vision for renewal, attuned to the contemporary era.

This book is intended to serve a double purpose. It can serve as a text for seminarians, used together with a reader drawn from the cited classics, or as a rich source of spiritual reading for priests and bishops.