“HE LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR ME” (Galatians 2:20)

I am the youngest child in my family. My mom tells me that the time she was pregnant with me was complicated because she suffers from asthma, but after many care and effort, I was born on a Thursday at 9:30 in the morning. They say everyone was very happy because I was born healthy and chubby.

Although I was born in Guadalajara, I lived in a town called Ayotlán until I was eleven years old. I grew up in a very religious environment. In my family, it was normal to pray the rosary and go to mass during the week. From my dad, I learned devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and praying for the souls in purgatory. From my mom, a deep love for the Holy Virgin. When I was little, a priest friend of the family had his leg amputated, and because of that, he had to celebrate mass sitting down. He did it at a table under the presbytery. He was a very good friend of my dad and asked for permission to help him take the hosts out of the tabernacle before communion. I don’t quite remember why, but in the end, I was the one carrying the ciborium and taking it to the priest, always accompanied by my dad. It was a moment of great joy for me, and even today, when I remember it, I can’t help but feel fortunate.

As I grew older, I became involved in the parish’s youth ministry. I helped with the children’s mass and the readings. My school was run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Guadalupe. There, I also joined the MIM (Missionaries of Childhood and Adolescence), where we engaged in various volunteer activities and helped the poor. All this to explain that from a young age, the environment around me was not unfamiliar with the things of God. And I liked it; I felt fulfilled when I did something for God and others. Perhaps that’s what a religious sister at school saw, because she started passing me “advertising” for different seminaries and congregations. Once, I received a brochure from the Legionaries of Christ. I already knew them because I had cousins there and because the priests visited my house. But I remember that when I received their brochure, I immediately thought that that was where God was calling me.

After finishing elementary school, I entered the Vocational Center of Guadalajara, which was just starting. It wasn’t easy to leave my family at that age. Both they and I found it a little difficult, but we all knew that God gave us the strength and was never outdone in generosity. There, I found an environment full of enthusiasm. We didn’t have many resources, as the seminary was just beginning, but we all lived with the excitement that comes when starting something big, aware that we were laying the foundations. Every day there was something new: setting up a table, planting a tree, making blankets, jugs for the dining hall, a blackboard… very simple things, but we celebrated everything…

It was during this time in the minor seminary that God planted in my soul the certainty that He loved me and gave Himself up for me on the cross. I wanted to be like the Cyrenean who helped Him, with my humble cooperation.

In 2004, I entered the Novitiate in Monterrey, and after two years, I made my first profession. It was in Monterrey where I was able to deepen my calling to follow Christ in the Legion. Later, I studied classical humanities in Salamanca, Spain. In 2008, I began my bachelor’s degree in philosophy at the Ateneo Regina Apostolorum in Rome. In 2010, I received my assignment for apostolic practices: Medellín, as a formator of apostolics at the Vocational Center. After two years at that center, I also collaborated as a formator at the Vocational Center in Mérida, Venezuela. I have unforgettable memories from my years of apostolic practices of the kindness shown by the people in those countries. I returned to Rome to pursue my license in philosophy. I believe this was my study phase where I could deepen my intellectual understanding. I really enjoyed it. Later, I completed my bachelor’s degree in theology from 2015 to 2018.

I was ordained a deacon on September 8 in Guadalajara, and I currently work as a formator at the Vocational Center of Mexico.

H. Salvador Escoto González was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, on October 6, 1988. He is the youngest son and has two sisters. From his parents, he received the example of simple faith and devotion to the Sacred Heart. He joined the Legion of Christ at the Vocational Center of Guadalajara in 2000. He did his novitiate in Monterrey and professed his first vows in Rome in 2006. He studied classical humanities in Spain, and later philosophy in Italy. During his apostolic practices, he collaborated as a prefect of apostolics at the Vocational Center in Medellín, Colombia, and in Mérida, Venezuela. He made his perpetual profession in Rome on October 4, 2013. He completed a license in philosophy and then earned his bachelor’s degree in theology. He was ordained a deacon on September 8 in Guadalajara.