Luis Felipe was born in Manizales and grew up in the municipality of Neira, in the department of Caldas, where he spent his childhood and youth and experienced God’s love. He comes from a simple, hardworking family. His mother owned a beauty salon in the town, while his father has dedicated his life to farming, particularly coffee cultivation, one of the region’s most characteristic industries.
He has a younger brother who currently works in a factory in the city of Manizales and who, at the same time, has chosen to carry on the family tradition of coffee cultivation and production, which the priest himself refers to as «one of the most representative activities of our region.».
From a very young age, this Colombian priest felt God’s call to the priesthood. For this reason, during his childhood and adolescence, he actively participated in the life of his parish as an altar boy and altar server.
Those years were decisive for the emergence and development of his vocation. At the age of sixteen, he entered the major seminary in Manizales, where he underwent nine years of formation—described as «years of study, of human and spiritual growth, of community life, and of vocational discernment»—which he recalls with gratitude toward God and toward those who accompanied him throughout that process.
He was ordained a deacon on July 9, 2018, and was ordained priest November 30, 2019. Since then, he has served in various parish communities, which have deeply enriched his ministry.
His pastoral ministry began as a deacon at the Nuestra Señora de la Merced parish in the municipality of La Merced, Caldas. Later, during his first year as a priest, amid the challenges of the pandemic, he served the community at San Jorge Parish in the city of Manizales, a period that marked the beginning of his priestly ministry.
Later, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manizales sent him as a missionary to the Archdiocese of Florencia, in southern Colombia, a region near the borders with Peru and Ecuador.
This missionary experience had a profound impact on his life as a priest. During his first few months, he served at the parish of the Florence Cathedral, and was later assigned to the parish of Our Lady of Aránzazu, in the municipality of San José del Fragua, where he remained for nearly two years.
A highlight of that period was getting to know «an extraordinarily beautiful region, characterized by its crystal-clear rivers, its lush vegetation, and the warmth of its people.» After this mission, he returned to his home archdiocese, where he served as assistant pastor at the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Manizales.
After a year of pastoral work, the Archbishop of Manizales sent him to Rome to continue his academic training. He has been living in the city for two years, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dogmatic theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
This stage has provided an opportunity to deepen his faith, strengthen his intellectual formation, and understand the pastoral and cultural challenges facing the contemporary Church. Luis Felipe says he has discovered «the greatness of God’s love, which—without any merit on our part—calls us to be witnesses to his mercy and his presence among humanity,» as well as the richness of the universal Church in its diversity of cultures and realities.
The priest expresses his gratitude to his benefactors at the CARF Foundation and to all those who contribute to the formation of priests.
He notes that his support helps prepare pastors who are capable of responding to the challenges of evangelization with generosity and a solid formation. He adds that, upon completing his studies in Rome, he will return to his archdiocese with the desire to put what he has learned at the service of the Church, especially in the formation of future priests.
He emphasizes that this assistance «is not merely a personal benefit,» but also an investment in the formation of new priests for the Church in Manizales and the universal Church.
Gerardo Ferrara is also the rHead of Student Affairs, University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
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