Some people think a priest is basically a pastor with a fancier outfit.

Others think the Catholic Church has a corporate ladder: deacon, priest, bishop, and then maybe the corner office in Rome.

Neither is right.

A priest is not a manager.

He is not a motivational speaker.

He is a man Christ has set apart, through the hands of the Apostles’ successors, to act in His name.

Wait… Why Do Catholics Need Priests?

A lot of Christians believe:

“All Christians are priests. Jesus is our High Priest. We don’t need a special class of ordained men between us and God.”

And at first that sounds right.

St. Peter does call all the baptized “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).

Catholics believe that too.

But then you start reading a few passages and you have to stop for a second.

Because in the same New Testament, there are also specific men set apart for ministry.

By the laying on of hands.

Two Kinds of Priesthood

Israel had the same pattern.

God called the whole nation “a priestly kingdom” (Exodus 19:6).

And within that priestly nation, He set apart Aaron and his sons as ministerial priests.

The Church works the same way.

All the baptized share in Christ’s priesthood.

And some men are ordained to serve that priestly people in a special way, especially by celebrating the sacraments (CCC 1547).

One does not cancel the other.

“Do This”

At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me” (Luke 22:19).

He said it to the Twelve.

And on Easter night, He breathed on the same men and gave them power to forgive sins (John 20:22–23).

He did not give those commands to the crowds.

He gave them to the men He had chosen and would send.

And notice how they were chosen:

“Neither doth any man take the honour to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was.”
— Hebrews 5:4

You do not decide to be a priest the way you decide to be a plumber.

You are called.

The Laying On of Hands

Now watch how the Apostles passed on ministry.

When the first deacons were chosen:

“These they set before the apostles; and they praying, imposed hands upon them.”
— Acts 6:6

On their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas:

“Ordained to them priests in every church.”
— Acts 14:22

Paul reminds Timothy of what happened when he was ordained:

“For which cause I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, by the imposition of my hands.”
— 2 Timothy 1:6

Wait.

Grace.

Given by the laying on of hands.

That is a sacrament.

And Paul tells Titus to “ordain priests in every city” (Titus 1:5).

The Apostles were not just appointing volunteers.

They were passing on their ministry.

Bishops, Priests, and Deacons

The Sacrament of Holy Orders has three degrees.

Bishops receive the fullness of the sacrament. They are successors of the Apostles who teach, govern, and sanctify a local church.

Priests are co-workers of the bishop. They celebrate Mass, forgive sins, anoint the sick, and shepherd parishes.

Deacons are ordained for service. They proclaim the Gospel, preach, baptize, witness marriages, and serve the poor.

You see all three in the New Testament.

And just a few years later, they show up clearly in the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Then You Read the First Christians

Around A.D. 96, St. Clement of Rome wrote that the Apostles appointed bishops and deacons, and then made provision that when these men died, other approved men would succeed them.

Around A.D. 107, St. Ignatius wrote that nothing should be done in the Church without the bishop, and told Christians to follow the priests as they would the Apostles and to respect the deacons.

He said a valid Eucharist is one celebrated by the bishop or by someone he has authorized.

Wait.

Bishop.

Priests.

Deacons.

Less than eighty years after the Resurrection.

This is not a medieval invention.

Acting in the Person of Christ

Here is the heart of it.

When a priest says, “This is my Body,” he is not talking about his own body.

When he says, “I absolve you,” he is not forgiving you by his own power.

The Church says the priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ (CCC 1548).

Jesus is the one true High Priest.

The ordained priest is His instrument.

Like a paintbrush in the hand of a master.

The brush does not get the credit for the painting.

But the painter still chose to use it.

That is why even a sinful priest can validly celebrate the sacraments.

It was never about his holiness.

It is about Christ’s.

A Mark That Lasts Forever

Ordination is not a job title you can resign from.

Like Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders marks the soul permanently (CCC 1582).

Once a priest, always a priest.

“Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech” (Hebrews 5:6).

So What Is the Catholic Claim?

Here it is in simple terms.

All the baptized share in Christ’s priesthood, and some are called to the ministerial priesthood, just as in Israel.

Jesus gave the Twelve the command to celebrate the Eucharist and the power to forgive sins.

The Apostles passed on their ministry through the laying on of hands, which Paul says gives grace.

Bishops, priests, and deacons appear in the New Testament and are clearly described by A.D. 107.

Ordained men act in the person of Christ, the one High Priest.

So the real question is not:

“Why do Catholics need priests?”

The better question is:

“Why did the Apostles lay hands on men to pass on their ministry, if it was meant to end with them?”

Because it was not meant to end.

It was meant to reach you.

Keep reading: Why Catholics Confess Their Sins to a Priest, or browse more questions in Catholicism Explained.

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Catholic Sources

Scripture (Douay-Rheims): Exodus 19:6; Luke 22:19; John 20:21–23; Acts 6:6; Acts 14:22; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Titus 1:5; Hebrews 5:4–6; 1 Peter 2:9.

Catechism of the Catholic Church: CCC 1536–1600 (Holy Orders); CCC 1547 (two participations in Christ’s priesthood); CCC 1548 (in persona Christi); CCC 1582 (indelible character).

Early Christian writers: St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 42–44 (c. A.D. 96); St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8 and Letter to the Trallians 3 (c. A.D. 107).

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