This young seminarian dreams of becoming a missionary. He grew up in a large and modest family, being the youngest of six siblings. From an early age, Lucas experienced a special call to the Catholic faith, inspired by the example of the Missionaries of Charity, the sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Lucas is in Rome (2025), where he is in his first year of theology studies at the University of Rome. Pontifical University of the Holy Crossas part of his formation for the priesthood, thanks to a partial scholarship offered by the CARF Foundation.
His story reflects a deep love for God, a commitment to the evangelizing mission and a life marked by gratitude to the spiritual community that welcomed him.
Uruguay is the most atheistic and secularized country in Latin America. There is a strong presence of Freemasonry, with many immoral laws according to the Christian faith, such as those related to abortion, marijuana use and LGBTQ+ rights.
"In spite of everything, there are many people who believe in God, although without practicing their faith. The churches are increasingly empty. People only baptize children out of tradition, "because it is something that is done", but not with full awareness of the sacrament. Also, out of habit, they send the children to catechesis to make their first communion, and after receiving the sacrament, they do not return to the church anymore. But, thank God, our pastors do a great job of evangelization to make God, who is only love and mercy, known. My family is also Catholic only by tradition, but thanks to God, I let myself be reached by Him", Lucas tells us.
"Near my house are the Missionaries of Charity, the sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. There they have a home for AIDS patients, they also visit families in the neighborhood, give catechesis to children, give communion to the sick and elderly, and many other things." His mother used to go to the pre-holiday Sunday mass in the sisters' chapel, and since Lucas was very attached to her, he would accompany her. "Even though I was very bored, I loved to watch and participate in the liturgy, I watched everything that happened, especially what the priest did," Lucas comments.
Almost a year after she made her first communion, at the age of 11, a new sister arrived. "She started a missionary group of children, we called ourselves the Little Missionaries of the Holy Rosary."
After a certain period of formation, he prayed a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which he renewed every year. In this consecration she promised two things: to go to Mass every Sunday and to pray the Holy Rosary every day. Her motto was "All for Jesus through Mary". And these things she really tried to live out, the holy mass and the holy rosary. "I believe that without this preparation it would have been more difficult for me to live and accept my vocation."
The activity as missionaries consisted basically in the formation they received from the sisters, and the mission of making known the importance of praying the rosary, especially praying it as a family. They did this every Sunday, when they would walk to Mass, praying the rosary together and carrying an image of the Sacred Hearts. "The image would be left with one family, where we would pray together, and the following Sunday, we would look for it and take it to another family, and so on."
And this is where his greatest desire was born and flourished: to be a missionary. Not only because he was part of this beautiful group, but also because of the great example given by the sisters. It was very beautiful for him to see consecrated women leaving everything, going to places far from their families, with another culture, language, etc., and becoming "Uruguayans" just for the love of Jesus, to quench their thirst of love for souls.
The priests of the Work of Jesus the High Priest, the community to which he belongs today, celebrated the Holy Eucharist three days a week for the Mother Teresa's sisters. I knew them, but I did not have a relationship, beyond seeing and greeting them.
I knew the apostolic sisters of the Family of Mary (a community associated with the Priestly Work) from seeing them at festive Masses in the diocese, where they often sang or made flowers for the liturgy, but as with the priests, I did not have a relationship with them.
Mother Teresa's sisters, seeing the reality of their parish where Lucas was the only young man, and knowing that in the Family of Mary there was a good group of young people from different parishes, invited him to go and be part of the group. "I didn't want to go, so I turned down the proposal, but a sister didn't give up and insisted for a whole year that I go. To get her to leave me alone, I accepted, I wanted to go just once, give the sister a taste and never come back, but the Lord's ways are different from ours," Lucas tells us.
In early 2014 he asked one of the priests if it was possible to participate in the summer camp organized by the community at the end of January, and the priest gladly said yes.
Luke did not know the community, he knew nothing about spirituality or the apostolate, but on the first day of the camp he understood in his heart that this was the community where God wanted him. "It was my place in the world, it was for me a certainty so great that no one could ever take it away from me. My plan was never to return, but after that first experience at the camp I never missed any of the activities that took place, it was for me the most important and beautiful thing that could happen to me".
In the Year of Mercy 2016, near their high school, there is the National Shrine of the Virgin of the Thirty-three, patroness of Uruguay. There they had the grace of having a holy door. "I almost never went to the Cathedral to take advantage of the grace of the plenary indulgenceBut once, by providence, when I left high school I met a sister of the Family of Mary, who is also my Confirmation sponsor, and talking a little with her, she encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity to gain the plenary indulgence.
During one of these visits to the Cathedral, he knelt before the statue of Our Lady and asked her to tell him what the will of her Son was for him. At that moment, a song began to play in the Basilica that was for Luke the answer to his question.
The song goes something like this; "I want to fall to the ground and die, otherwise I will be left alone, I am a grain of wheat, I want to bear much fruit, to be your witness for the world. If I love my life, I will lose it, if I give my life I will gain it, where you are Jesus, there I am, I follow you I am your servant". This song had been for Luke the clear answer to his question, he had to give his life totally to the Lord to truly win it, and become a missionary of Jesus.
At the beginning of 2018, Lucas spoke with the person in charge of the mission in Uruguay and asked him if he could do a time of discernment, and also a time of mission with the community. In March 2018, at the age of 18, he began to live with the missionaries.
After a time of mission and discernment in Uruguay, in September 2019, he went to Rome to begin his formation in the Work of Jesus the High Priest. He is currently in his first year of theology at the University of the Holy Cross, for which he is very happy and grateful for this possibility.
"Today I can still say the same as I did ten years ago, that I am convinced that this is the community where God is calling me, "my place in the world", and it is in this spiritual family that I want and desire to give my life, to make known the love of God and the Blessed Virgin and to be a missionary of Christ," says Lucas.
"I would like to heartily thank all the benefactors of the CARF Foundation for their support, thanks to which many seminarians, priests, religious men and women can have access to a good and dignified formation. With this help, you contribute to making the Church ever more alive and fruitful in the world".
He promises prayers for their intentions, families and needs, as a small token of his gratitude for such beautiful and great support. He also asks them for prayers for him and his vocation. "May God reward you a hundredfold and may our Heavenly Mother always protect you!"
Gerardo Ferrara
BA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Responsible for students at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
