On April 7, Pope Francis received seminarians from the Pontifical Teutonic College, which is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the election of Pope Adrian VI, who was born in Utrecht, then part of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire.

Pope Adrian “sought to promote above all reconciliation in the Church and the world, putting into practice the words of St. Paul according to which God entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Apostles,” Pope Francis told the seminarians. “Considering his care for promoting agreement and reconciliation, I urge you to follow his path, especially as ministers of the Sacrament of Penance.”