“I resisted such a radical life change”
“In my first year of university, we formed a Regnum Christi team with friends from Cumbres. I was intrigued by the mystery of the Eucharist and started attending Mass more frequently. When I was in my fourth year of Law, I decided to spend a year as a collaborator in RC. On Holy Thursday of 2006, in a small town in Huesca, a local asked me why I wasn’t becoming a priest. I honestly replied that God had not called me. During that day’s Mass, the priest said in his homily: ‘on a day like today, God instituted the sacrament of Holy Orders.’ I was moved inside, remembering that farmer. I spent the following months unable to get that idea out of my head, thinking and praying, almost exclusively praying to the Virgin during those moments when I resisted accepting such a radical and uncertain life change, I was afraid of Jesus. I gradually accepted this invitation, and I owe my ‘yes’ to Christ to Her.”
“School always offered me a Christian environment”
“I believe that Cumbres always aimed, at all levels, to offer a Christian environment. Since I was a child, we regularly had the opportunity to have a chapel nearby. I remember with affection the Friday Masses; we were always offered Communion, and it was very easy to go to Confession whenever we wanted. They planted good seeds as we grew. I still remember Professor Raúl Cañas, who taught us a prayer to the Guardian Angel and was a beautiful testimony of what it means to be a deacon.”
“I can only accept this gift with humility and a heart full of gratitude”
“Jesus comes to meet us through His ministers and the Sacraments. Without priests, we wouldn’t have the joy of forgiveness in Confession or the delight of worshiping God in the Eucharist. I can only accept this gift with humility and a heart full of gratitude. I want to offer a helping hand, a kind and welcoming face, one that knows how to suffer and rejoice with everyone, with humanity and a sense of humor. I would like to share Christ’s treasure with others but also learn from others and, above all, walk together. It is wonderful that God always wants to bring us together, to depend healthily on each other, because no one can do it alone.”
Without prayer, perseverance is impossible and there is no fruitfulness
“With Jesus, we learn to live differently. Everything makes sense when you have faith in Him. The Lord surprises you; He is a creative genius. He knows how to make you rest and have fun. He has the ability to console what seemed unconsoleable. Approach Him. No one loves or knows you like Jesus.”
The “U” always in my heart
“I am passionate about encounters. Learning new cultures and languages fills me with life. I have been a fan of the ‘U’ since I was very young; it connects me with my history. I look up the goals from 1994 on the internet and I dream again. It’s more than a hobby, it’s very special.”
Juan Pablo was born on December 1, 1983, in Santiago, Chile. He was a student at Cumbres School and a member of Regnum Christi in Santiago. He studied Law for three years at Universidad Los Andes. In 2006, he was a collaborator in Barcelona. He entered the novitiate in São Paulo in February 2007. In 2009, he was a vocations promoter in Curitiba, and at the end of that year, he began studying humanities in Cheshire, Connecticut. Towards the end of 2010, he started his bachelor’s in philosophy at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, located in New York State. In 2012, he began his apostolic practices in Madrid as an Assistant for ECyD and a Formation Instructor. In 2015, he moved to Rome to study a bachelor’s in theology. He is currently developing his priestly ministry in the Irish of Monterrey.
