"I am Jeevan Kumar Suravarapu from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Srikakulam. I am doing my third year of theological studies at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Pontifica Universita della Santa Croce).

Let's move on to my story. I was born on 08/24/1998 in a village called Paathapatnam. My parents are Bhaskar Rao Suravarapu and Parvathi. We are a small but happy family until my father left this world in the year 2002. I was 4 years old then.

We were left alone after his death and no one came to our aid. The only refuge we found was in the Lord Jesus Christ. My mother gradually started going to church and found a lot of comfort that no one in this world gave us. Thus began our journey from Hinduism to Christianity. In the beginning, our caste and Hindu community viewed us with a very low level of practicing Christianity. But my mother never worried about them and continued with her faith. I learned from her to go to the
Church and to serve at Mass. We were baptized in 2005 and finally began our Christian journey.
as children of God and members of the Church.

Things went on. The daily struggles continue. My mother, being the sole breadwinner in the family, raised me with many hardships, gave me a good education, taught me the faith. I have learned a lot from her pious practices and moral values. The practice of attending Holy Mass initiated in me the idea of becoming a priest to serve the people of God. It was at the age of 13. I expressed the same to my mother. She received my desire with joy, but asked me to take some time and reflect, as I was too young to make a big decision. However, the thought remained in my heart as I grew older.

I thank God for His initiative in my life and the encouragement of the elders and priests in this regard, which strengthened me to this day in my vocation. My mother played a pivotal role in my vocation. I really thank her for her courageous decision to offer her only son to the service of the Lord, something that was never easy for a typical Indian woman who lost her husband and now lives alone without her son near her.

My period of formation for the priesthood was not an easy task. I had some difficulties in learning and catching up with the subjects being taught, but by God's grace I overcame them.
I did my orientation course for 3 years along with secular studies at Eluru. These were my first years in the seminary, which were hard for me as I left home. However, this emotion faded with time and I got into the spirit of the seminary and the desire to become a priest became stronger and stronger. Later I did a year's course in spiritual guidance at St. Paul's Regional Seminary in Nuzvid, Andhra Pradesh.

I had good experiences with my friends from different dioceses in our province and a lot of practical faith experience doing some pastoral ministry on Sundays in different nearby towns. This gave me a foretaste of what a priest's pastoral ministry would be like. Something strange and shocking happened after this, I was asked to take a break to pursue studies for the priesthood. It was not my fault, but it was advice for me to reconsider my vacation, as I was an only child of my parents and there was a doubt in the minds of my formators, as it might someday affect me in my priestly ministry. I studied 3 years of secular studies while staying at home. In a sense, this period served as a period of strong discernment of my vocation.

Finally, this phase came to an end with the letter of call to re-enter the seminary. My next phase was in Vishakapatnam, one of the cities of our province, where I studied two years of undergraduate degree in philosophy. Those two years were the period of serious reasoning and learning.

Then my bishop, the Most Reverend Rayarala Vijay Kumar, told me that I needed to study theological studies in Rome. I was very happy and never thought that I would be doing my studies in Rome, the eternal city. The university provides many opportunities to learn and grow in different aspects. I feel blessed to be here learning the culture and the great Christian history that happened throughout the centuries.

Lastly and most importantly, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear benefactors, for your help and
support for me. Their kind help made my stay happy and peaceful. I am also happy to have someone who thinks of me and prays for me. I assure you of my constant prayers for your health.
and prosperity in all aspects".