Angel Alberto Cepeda Perez, seminarian from Venezuela

Ángel Alberto Cepeda Pérez

It is the name I received from my parents at the time of my birth and my baptism, Angel Alberto Cepeda Perez, my parents are Angel Atilio Cepeda and Adriana del Carmen Perez de Cepeda, who have been married for 47 years.

Fruit of which we have born 4 children (two girls and two boys), Wendy Niraida Cepeda Perez (47), Angel Atilio Cepeda Perez (45), Jeidy Nidet Cepeda Perez (43), finally, I (36), which I have already described at the beginning of this paragraph my name.

I am a native of San Francisco, San Francisco Municipality of Zulia State in Venezuela, although my childhood and youth I lived in Casigua el Cubo, Jesús Maria Semprun Municipality of Zulia State, where my parents live, since it was in the town where they had been eradicated to work as educators.

His childhood in the village Casigua el Cubo

I grew up in a catholic home where I lived my childhood very happily in this small town called Casigua el Cubo.I studied kindergarten and elementary school at the Escuela Básica, where my mother worked as an educator.

I then continued my high school studies in an institution where my father worked as a teacher of Geography and Bolivarian Chair.

At the end of my studies, my parents gave me the opportunity to continue my university studies in the city of Maracaibo, which is the capital of the state of Zulia.

Need to help others

Both in my childhood as well as in my adolescence I felt the need to help people, especially those in special situations.When I was 9 years old, I made my first communion at the Holy Trinity Parish of Casigua el Cubo, a parish that at that time was served by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

At the age of 15 I was confirmed under the hands of Monsignor Ramiro Diaz who was formerly the parish priest of that parish and had been appointed Bishop at that time of the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques, now the Diocese.

Ya in my childhood and adolescence I always had a close relationship with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.. In addition, I served in that parish in my adolescence for a short time as a catechetical assistant, without ceasing to have great admiration for the priest and the great work that each one performed.

If training process

In 2003 I began my studies at the University Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín with the to obtain the title of Electronics Engineer in Telecommunications.I have left a few pauses in my training process.

I felt that something else was missing, that I was not fully satisfied, In this intermittence during my studies I decided to work for a while but something was still missing in my life. After some time I decided to resume my studies and finish them in 2012.

I immediately started working with the Zulia State Government for 4 years, which helped me to grow both humanly and professionally.

It was in 2016 when I decided to quit that job to move to Caracas. in order to be able to practice my profession and continue to grow as a person, but in turn, I began to get a little closer to the Church..

His vocation was born in the Archdiocese of Caracas

Then, I began to help a priest of the Archdiocese of Caracas, who was a priest of the Archdiocese of Caracas.who entrusted me with the management of the social networks of the Good Shepherd Parish.

On this occasion I took the opportunity to confide in the parish priest about my vocational concern towards the priesthood and he suggested me to do a series of exercises that could lead me to truly discern whether or not I was called by God. through the priestly vocation.

After having done all this discernment, Father told me that the decision to say Yes to the Lord was mine. Ft was a hard moment for me, but I lived it with great joy and decided to respond to God's call to me..

I introduced myself to the Bishop of the Diocese of El Vigia - San Carlos de Zulia, Monsignor Juan de Dios Peña Rojas.I received a letter from the Presbyter of the parish where I was doing my service and the Vocational Center of the Archdiocese of Caracas. I received an answer after a few days.

However, it is He told me that I had to go to the seminary of another diocese, since ours does not have its own seminary and for this reason the Bishop has to send us to study in other dioceses.

In the I was admitted to St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary of the Diocese of San Cristobal, where I completed my Propaedeutic and Philosophy studies. during the years 2017 - 2021.

Thanks to a grant from CARF and partners

Next, I was given the opportunity to study theology at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. in Rome, an opportunity that I accepted with great joy and gratitude.

In which I am currently in my first semester at the Faculty of Theology: it is a great opportunity for the formation of the future pastors of the Catholic Church to receive a quality education as provided by the university and It is a great joy for me to be able to respond generously to this opportunity, especially considering the difficult situation in my country, my beloved Venezuela.

The situation in your country, Venezuela

Today, in particular, Venezuela is going through a crisis. It is a socio-economic crisis, caused by the government, since it has destroyed the educational system, the economic system, the production system and also the oil industry, main source of income for the nation.

Causing an economic inflation that has led a large part of Venezuelan families to total poverty, making it impossible for young people to choose to study a career.The public universities have been mostly destroyed, and access to private education is impossible for families with limited resources.

In addition, There is totalitarianism in that the government controls the entire judicial, electoral and executive systems. In this sense, there is no justice other than that which the government wants to implement. On the other hand, there is also a great division in the opposition political parties that have not allowed for a strategy that would allow a response to the national problems.

Even more so, I am happily grateful to God for having called me to follow him.I will always respond to this call with great joy, to serve the Church in my country, which suffers so much..

And I am particularly grateful to the benefactors of CARF, Centro Academico Romano Foundation, who give me the opportunity to study at such an illustrious University of the Holy Cross.