CARF Foundation

7 May, 20

Life testimonies

"Let no vocation be lost": Eleven seminarians tell their testimony

Last Sunday, May 3, CARF inaugurated its campaign "May no vocation be lost" with a virtual open-door meeting between seminarians from Bidasoa in Pamplona and Sedes Sapientiae in Rome.

José Calderero, journalist, moderated this open house seminar The participants were able to meet online the rectors of both seminaries supported by CARF: Mr. Juan Alonso García, Rector of the International Ecclesiastical College BIDASOA (Pamplona) and Mr. Javier Canosa, Rector of the CEI SEDES SAPIENTIAE in Rome.

Several dozen benefactors joined this unique gathering at CARF. Calderero began by congratulating all mothers for celebrating this seminar on Mother's Day. Many of the seminarians mention the influence of their mothers in their vocation.

The four vicinities of the priest

The Rector of Bidasoa, Mr. Juan Alonso began his speech by recalling the 32 years since the Seminary was erected, through which more than a thousand seminarians have passed and 600 priests have been ordained throughout the world.

"A priest gives comfort in the midst of the world, he makes the Lord present. Today it is expected of the priests 4 vicinityI say to them: be close to God, close to your bishop, close to the priests of your diocese and close to the faithful. To the benefactors I say: a priest is an incredible investment".said Mr. Juan Alonso

Six seminarians from Pamplona

The seminarians who told their testimony of CEI Bidasoa were: FRANCISCO JOSÉ LUCERO Diocese of Santiago (Guatemala); JOSE MIGUEL Undeclared diocese (China). LAWRENCE KAWAGGA Kasana-Luweero Diocese (Uganda), AXEL DAVID CASTILLO Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima (Guatemala)JULY CÉSAR MORILLO Diocese of Cabimas (Venezuela), and MASAHIRO YUKI Diocese of Oita (Japan).

Lawrence Kawagga has eleven siblings and was orphaned at a young age.

This is the testimony of Lawrence Kawagga, from the Kasana-Luweero Diocese (Uganda) (cover photo).

"I come from a Catholic family of twelve siblings. In 2002 my father died and my mother was left alone to raise the family.. I helped him by selling firewood and banana leaves in town. I traveled ten kilometers from the house to the city during the week and on weekends. In 2005, as an altar boy, I discovered my vocation and from that moment on I wanted to enter the Seminary, but the cost was too great. Therefore, I went to study in a Protestant school. One day, I asked the principal to allow a Catholic priest to celebrate mass for the Catholic students and he accepted.".

"A few years later, in 2011, as I still wanted to enter the Seminary, a priest helped me financially to enter. I was fortunate that the bishop, along with other people, helped me to enter the Major Seminary. There I studied three years of Philosophy and then two years of Theology. Then my bishop sent me to study at the Bidasoa Ecclesiastical College to continue my education at the University of Navarra. I am the only one in my family to have studied at the University and my mother is very proud. I thank CARF and all the benefactors who help us materially and in prayer".

Francis Joseph discovered his vocation with the rosary

Francisco José Lucero commented that his call to follow the Lord in the priesthood took place when he was 27 years old. "I had my life made and that gave me a lot of doubts." He then decided to take refuge in the prayer of the Rosary with an audio and a rosary that had been given to him at a spiritual retreat. One day, his sister asked him if he could give her the audio and the rosary for a friend of hers. At first he said no. But then he came to his senses and gave it to her. "After three days my sister called me to tell me that her friend had begun to pray the rosary and that he was very happy. It gave me a very beautiful joy that comes from God". 

Soon after, his sister told him that his friend had been in an accident and had died. "That news hit me very hard. The doubts I had about my vocation were dispelled because the fact that I left that rosary to my sister's friend shortly before she died, made me feel that I was an instrument of God. A small YES that we give can become something gigantic. Three years after this event, here I am, in Bidasoa, with the rosary in my hand, and trusting a lot in God" says Francisco José. 

LawrenceAs a young man, I traveled ten kilometers a day to sell firewood and banana leaves".

Julio Cesar Morillo Venezuela.

Julio Cesar Morillo, 33 years old, is a seminarian of the Diocese of Cabimas (Venezuela). He studies in the Ecclesiastical Universities of Navarra and is a resident of the International Ecclesiastical College Bidasoa. He had reached the summit of his professional and personal project, he was a university professor, but something was missing. "A constant search began in me for what I was missing and God began to speak to me in different ways". 

José Miguel, the Chinese seminarian who survived the one-child policy

José Miguel is the second child of a Chinese family and was born when his country's government was still severely applying the one-child policy. José Miguel cannot be very precise in his data. He is from China, from a diocese of which he prefers not to say the name to avoid problems with the authorities. However, anonymity allows him to speak out, in the first person, against the terrible one-child policy implemented for too many years in the Asian giant.

She knows it well because José Miguel is the second son of a Chinese family and was born "when the Government was still implementing this law". Therefore, his mother's joy at having a life growing inside her quickly gave way to fear that the government might find out and end the life of her second child. So, there was and mother was forced to abort me in the hospital." When she was already expecting, she clung to prayer "and offered myself to God to do His will in the future". And the miracle happened. "An unknown doctor appeared, who helped my mother to give birth to me." José Calderero tells the story in Alpha and Omega.

Axel suffered the pain of his father's death at the age of 14.

Axel grew up in a Catholic family, attended the Eucharist and participated in a parish group. From an early age he felt God's call. When he was 14 years old, his father died and his mother took care of his four siblings. He is the oldest. "The call of the Lord kept coming, but I couldn't answer him because of my family situation. But in the end, I was able to answer his call," he says.

He then entered the Assumption Major Seminary. For his family and his community it was a moment of joy. "I hope to return to my country to contribute to the evangelization of the communities. Who collaborate with the formation of the future priests of our Church. Who helps in the formation of priests and seminarians, builds on his tomb an altar".

Julio Cesar: "I had everything, but I couldn't find happiness".

Julio César is 33 years old. Since he was young, he has participated in the Venezuelan Family Encounters, a movement that promotes family values and the commitment of young people to create a family. "Forming a family is what I planned in my life," he says.

From divorced parents, he graduated in Petroleum Engineering. "My mother supported me in my studies and I was able to support the family to get ahead". He had reached the pinnacle of his professional and personal project, he was a university professor, something he had always dreamed of, but something was missing.

"A constant search began in me for what I was missing and God began to speak to me in different ways. My spiritual director helped me. But I was afraid to leave everything: starting a family, my studies, my work. Then I remembered a phrase of St. John Bosco: when it comes to following your vocation, you have to be ready to sacrifice everything. Now I feel happier every day.

Julio Cesar is grateful to all those who help him to pursue his vocation. "Being able to be formed with seminarians from different cultures and being able to receive an excellent theological formation is the best thing about studying at Bidasoa."

Masahiro, from atheist to seminarian

Masahiro comes from a family with no beliefs. In fact, he remains the only Catholic in his family. When he was 17 years old, he became interested in the history of the Catholic Church, an institution that he saw as under attack by society. He tells of his vocation in another article published by CARF.

Michael from Tanzania, along with three other seminarians, will be ordained deacons on May 24 in Rome. 

seminar day 2

MICHAEL LUSATOThe Bishop, from the Diocese of Bunda (Tanzania), wanted to speak about the importance of the elderly in the vocation of young people. "I discovered my vocation through an elderly person, a catechist in my parish. He prayed for me to become a priest". Javier Canosa, rector of the Ecclesiastical College Sedes Sapientiae in Rome. 

Five seminarians at Sedes Sapientiae

After the testimonies of the seminarians from Pamplona, it was the turn of those from Rome, all residents of the International Ecclesiastical College Sedes Sapientiae and students of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

Opened the shift Javier Canosa, Rector of CEI Sede Sapientiae who highlighted the opportunity for the seminarians to "have that closeness with the Pope, to listen to his words, but also to accompany him more closely and bring him the affection, affection and union of their dioceses of origin". Canosa also underlined "the universal sense that the seminarians acquire" by studying in an international center such as Sede Sapientiae.

Federico: "Confession is an experience of peace and communion".

FEDERICO TORRESfrom the Diocese of San Roque (Argentina) told of the road he has traveled until he reached the Seminary with the help of God, especially the Eucharist and confession, a sacrament with which he experiences "peace, joy and communion with God and the Church". His parish priest, a very close and familiar person, was the one who helped him to reflect on his priestly life. His family always supported him. In addition, in his youth, his participation in the vocation meetings in the seminary of his diocese strengthened his desire to give himself more to the Lord. "My desire is to lead other people to be closer to Jesus," he says.

Joseph and his encounter with a wooden tabernacle in an Indian village

 JOSE SAMPIERI AGUILARfrom the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Angeles (Mexico) shared his vocation testimony:

"As a young man I participated in a group of missions in rural and indigenous areas, doing humanitarian and evangelization work. The first time I arrived at a very simple chapel, where the priest went once or twice every six months due to the difficulty of the area, I saw a small wooden box that looked like a tabernacle to me. Inside were Eucharistic forms. That really struck me. And my first question was: Lord, what are you doing here in such a distant context? And the answer the Lord gave me was: "What am I doing here, if I am at home".

"Another event that touched me was when the mission group was able to give communion with these consecrated forms to an elderly lady of 93 years of age, without family, who was about to die. Medical help did not arrive in time, but the help of the soul did. A few days later she died. The Lord takes instruments where the medicine of the souls comes before that of the body".

Alejandro: "My family was not happy with my vocation. Now they tell me that it is also a gift".

ALEJANDRO RANGEL JIMENEZHe thanked the benefactors for sharing this meeting and invited them all to his island, Margarita, "which is a paradise on earth that God gave us". He has always felt blessed by the Lord and not because of his merits, but because he was very close to Him. At first his family was not very much in agreement with my vocation, least of all his mother when she went to Rome. "But last summer, after 3 years without seeing his family, I was reunited with my family and now they were not only not happy with my vocation, but gloried in it. I have always been very loved and pampered, but now they saw that the vocation was also a gift to my family, so they told me. That breaks people. The Lord changes lives.

Michael and the importance of elders in the vocation of young people 

MICHAEL LUSATOThe Diocese of Bunda (Tanzania), emphasized the importance of the elderly in the vocation of young people. "I discovered my vocation through an elderly person, a catechist in my parish. He told me that he was praying for me to become a priest. The first time he told me this, I didn't feel anything. The second time I felt it again. Then I prayed a novena to ask the Lord if he was calling me or if it was an illusion. At the end of this novena I felt the voice of the Lord. I believe that the elderly are very important to help young people discover their vocation.

JACOBO LAMA ABREUAnother seminarian from the Diocese of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, shared his testimony. He tells it in another article, published by CARF.

The seminar was closed by Edgardo Calvente, Director of CARF Promotion. "CARF is a private foundation that was founded more than 30 years ago. Our mission is to serve as a bridge that unites many generous people who are willing to support seminaries and priests in different ways, and the study centers where these seminarians and priests are trained in their ecclesiastical sciences that are sent by their bishops. Sometimes, someone discovers his vocation, but if he does not have the financial means to be able to be formed, perhaps that vocation is lost. That is why, this is the slogan of this campaign, that no vocation be lost. We are looking for 2,400 generous souls who are willing to give 150 euros and that will help 20 seminarians from anywhere in the world to be trained in these Seminaries".

 

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