Eric, Ferran, Pol, and Adrià are four young men who have decided to become priests. They came to the Vatican for a very special reason: a private reception with Pope Francis.
ERIC CASANOVA
ADE student
I was surprised because the dream of a Christian person is to see the Pope. When I went to the private audience, what surprised me in talking to him and dealing with him is that he is a person who knows how to listen a lot, he knows how to listen to people and when he speaks, he speaks with wisdom. But first, he listens to you and he listens to you very attentively, that's what surprised me.
In reality, they simply wanted a photograph dedicated by Pope Francis. But they got much more, as he proposed to meet them in person.
Eric Casanova is one of the four young men. He is 18 years old. He has not been a believer all his life but the death of his grandfather pushed him to it.
ERIC CASANOVA
ADE student
My grandfather was a seminarian but he met my grandmother. For the last months of his life he was in a room, and he wanted to put up several images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and I was surprised because I knew that he had not been very practicing in the faith, either.
The death of his grandfather was one of the factors that led him to reflect on the meaning of his life. He began a path that led him to the decision to become a priest.
ERIC CASANOVA
ADE student
I would say that the renunciation of the priesthood is to have a family but while that can be a fear at first, that is, not having a family or descendants … the family is your parish as well as the people of the village, your neighborhood and everyone you know. The priests I know are never alone.
The four young men admit that it was a real gift to meet Pope Francis and they felt privileged. After all, they got their dedicated photo and more than 30 minutes of conversation.
TR: JD
