"Through the sacrament of Holy Orders priests share in the universal dimensions of the mission that Christ entrusted to the apostles. The spiritual gift they have received in ordination prepares them, not for a limited and restricted mission, 'but for the fullest, in fact the universal mission of salvation to the end of the earth,' 'prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere.'" - Catechism of the Catholic Church

A priest is a man who has received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which confers on him certain powers of Christ, principally the power to consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and the power to forgive sin in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. When he does these things he acts In Persona Christi, in the Person of Christ.

St. Josemaria Escriva said that "A Priest - whoever he may be - is always another Christ....People who say that we priests are lonely are either lying or have got it all wrong. We are far less lonely than anyone else, for we can count on the constant company of the Lord, with whom we should be conversing without interruption. We are in love with Love, with the Author of Love!"

There are two basic types of priests: the Diocesan Priest and the Religious Priest:

Diocesan Priest:

A diocesan priest is one who is called to serve souls in a particular diocese. In the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Bishop Michael Mulvey has been placed, by Christ, as the head of the Diocese. All diocesan priests serve in obedience to and in collaboration with him. Diocesan priests serve mostly in parishes. On a practical level you can say that the Church “runs” on diocesan priests serving in their parishes. They administer the sacraments, they are responsible for the instruction of their people, they are close to them in their lives and trials, they counsel, forgive and serve constantly, heroically, patiently.

Religious Priest:

A religious priest is a member of a religious community who has received the Sacrament of Orders. He is under the authority of his own superiors, and he serves the local diocese through the works of his order or congregation located there. However he is not limited to serving in one diocese but can be assigned elsewhere by his superiors. Everywhere he serves he does so with the permission of the local bishop. Some religious priests serve in parishes, but the majority have more specialized apostolates, such as education, retreats, communications, etc.