Meeting a good priest changed his life

Alejandro will never forget his first encounter with a good priest. Born on April 26, 1993 into a Catholic family on the Caribbean island of Margarita (Venezuela), he led a life like many his age: his life of faith was limited, as was customary in his family, to attending Sunday Mass.

Alejandro was passionate about everything to do with computers. So after finishing school, he began studying computer systems engineering, financing his studies himself by working for various companies. After completing his studies, he was in demand whenever computer problems needed solving. He earned good money, was popular among his friends, and had a girlfriend. Then he met the priest who showed him how to reconcile professional life with inner life. His relationship with God grew, he truly learned to pray, and his faith became deeper and more mature.

Eventually he felt what he today calls a “holy restlessness,” wondering whether God might be calling him to the priesthood. At first, neither his family nor his girlfriend were very enthusiastic about this, but Alejandro continued on his path. The bishop decided to let the question of his vocation mature slowly and sent him to assist in a parish. After a year, he accepted him as a seminarian and sent him to the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. There, Alejandro is now in his third year studying theology.

Studying close to the Pope and, moreover, receiving such an outstanding academic education is a unique experience for Alejandro. Yet he does not forget the difficult time during his first year in the Eternal City. It was marked by great challenges that troubled him. But these important experiences helped him to recognize more deeply the gift of being a child of God. He came to realize that living as a child of God means being correspondingly teachable and obedient toward Him.

Alejandro likes to visit the Circus Maximus and the Via Appia Antica: places where the apostles once were. He wants to be, like them, a model of following Christ and to convey how important it is to lead a good and just life. As a priest, he wants to dedicate his life in his homeland to relieving suffering and bringing about peace – through administering the sacraments and through his example. Venezuela urgently needs people like Alejandro, for it currently finds itself in an alarming crisis, as a result of which the food supply has collapsed and many services have failed. Poverty is growing, and with it, hardship.

We ask you most sincerely: support seminarians like Alejandro with your prayers, and if at all possible, with your generous donation! Venezuela – the world – needs priests like him. Thank you for your solidarity!

Thank you very much for your generous support of students like Alejandro!