For Pope St John Paul II the New Evangelisation was a cause dear to his heart. It was for this reason that he created the „Redemptoris Mater“ seminaries around the world, where young men from various different countries now follow their vocation to the priesthood.
The outstanding feature of these seminaries is that the priests emerging from them are willing, at the request of their respective bishops, to work anywhere in the world as missionaries. There are 120 Redemptoris Mater seminaries around the world today, one of which is in Peru, in the Archdiocese of Arequipa. Here there are 23 young men from Peru and Chile currently training for the priesthood. The fact that they can follow their vocation is due above all to God, who has granted this vocation to them in the first place, but at the same time it is also thanks to your generous support.
Father Alvaro Rojas Gonzales, the rector of the seminary, has written to us. „Most of these seminarians come from strong Catholic families, a fact that helps them to treasure the fundamental value of the family within the Church and in society and also to recognise the need to promote the family, above all today, by promoting and supporting the Catholic faith.
As formators, we thank God for permitting us to play a part in this formation and to witness and testify to the generosity with which they are leaving everything behind in order to follow the Lord. It is beautiful to see how God the Father is forming them, according to the image of his Son, and this spurs us on to give the very best of ourselves in order that, by the grace of God they may gain a strong heart. Since our Archbishop established this seminary in the year 2008, no fewer than 17 priests and two deacons have emerged from it and are currently working, some in the parishes of Arequipa, and some of them as missionaries in other dioceses, for which we give thanks to God.
“Felipe (22) is one of these 23 young men. He has five brothers and sisters. From his childhood his parents used to speak to him about God. Now in the seminary, he is discovering day by day „the joy of being a Catholic“, he tells us. And he continues: „I also see, every day, how God gives us what we need in order to continue our training – both the courage and also the material things we need. I thank you for your help. May God bless you all!“
To all of you who have helped in the past, or will do so in the future, we would like to add our own heartfelt thanks!
