Elio Azuaje Villegas is a Venezuelan priest from the diocese of Trujillo who carries in his blood the passion and warmth of his people.
"My story is a very Venezuelan story, since I was born in Caracas to parents from Trujillo who had emigrated to the capital city as a result of the oil boom of the 60's in Venezuela, in search of a better life opportunity. I am the third of five siblings, I attended a public school and frequented a parish vicarage that was run by Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
There I prepared myself for communion and confirmation and at the age of 12 I was already helping as an assistant to teach catechism to other children. It was there that my vocation was born at a very early age and my desire to enter a minor seminary began.
My vocation was very early and it was not so easy, because in the Archdiocese of Caracas there was no longer a minor seminary and I had to wait until I finished what in Venezuela is called baccalaureate: I lacked 2 years and I was 13 years old.
It was there that, through the sisters, I met the Carmelite Fathers and began the vocational follow-up, they gave me the opportunity to enter the minor seminary, it was a very profound experience despite my young age, and I had to overcome many obstacles, starting with my parents.
It was difficult for them to allow a minor son of theirs who had never left home to go to the seminary. My father had other plans in mind for me, but I held on to the fact that I had to go to the seminary and with the help of God manifested through so many people that I call angels, little by little with pain and suffering I overcame the trials.
I remember that for me it was a great joy and deep satisfaction to be there, so much so that the separation of my parents and siblings did not really affect me at all, I was where I wanted to be.
The novitiate with the Carmelites was an experience that also allowed me to get to know, through some fellow students, diocesan life and I even had to choose which diocese to apply to.
And there I discovered something very important: my vocation to work in rural areas in country parishes.
The Carmelite Fathers would take us on vacations to the missions, and there I discovered the pleasure of dealing and working with people from the provinces, simple, noble and generous people. My parents are from the interior of the country and always took us on vacations to the town where the grandparents, uncles, aunts and uncles and other relatives were: many of them lived in the countryside and that is why I thought of applying for admission to that diocese where I had my roots.
I had the opportunity to meet the Bishop of Trujillo at that time: I will always remember that first meeting with this venerable Bishop who then has meant for my life a very important and special person, he trusted me, he was the Bishop who ordained me, and who guided me for many years, he already enjoys the presence of God since Palm Sunday 2018 that departed to the Father's house, I thank God for having allowed me to meet such a holy baron and distinguished pastor.
I had many difficulties along the way, mainly due to the lack of seminaries, since there was no major seminary in Trujillo, so the seminarians were sent to seminaries in other dioceses.
In my diocese at that time there were about 80 seminarians and our families did not have the means to afford the studies, the bishop and the diocese had to move pieces and make miracles to keep so many seminarians, one of the criteria was to send to the seminaries where the fee was cheaper, it was for that reason that I was sent to the other end of the country: a new experience but I liked it very much.
I was ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 2000, by Bishop Vicente. What a great day, and what a great number of priests, seminarians...! And also my parents and my siblings and my nephews and nieces and other relatives and friends. I was ordained in the parish where I had done my pastoral year, in Burbusay.
After five years as a priest in my diocese, Bishop Vicente sent me to Spain to study Church History at the Pontifical University of Comillas, where I spent three years.
Once the academic year was over, I returned to Venezuela to continue my pastoral work.
Upon my arrival I was appointed parochial administrator of a parish in Trujillo for a few months, before moving to Boconó and preparing the foundations for a new ecclesiastical parish in this archpriesthood.
I was there in Boconó for 9 years, 5 as parish priest and 4 preparing the foundation of the parish of San Antonio de Padua de Mosquey. It was a period of many blessings, although full of difficulties and challenges: I learned many things and I had the opportunity to study education at the civil university, to teach and to be chaplain of a school. And the beauty of founding a country parish is to enjoy the generosity of the people: founding a parish in Venezuela at this time is hard, because there is nothing to build, it is there where the Lord tries, but also acts and one feels and experiences the action of God in the works that are done in his name. We were able to do so many things thanks to the contribution and work of so many people who enthusiastically wanted to see the dream of being an ecclesiastical parish come true.
In the last 4 years the levels of hunger and shortages have been astonishing, and lately the macro and continuous devaluation of the currency that not only does not allow not having to buy, but also not being able to get cash, all this and other things have resulted in a humanitarian emergency situation, where the people are agonizing little by little and where the government does not want to recognize officially because it would also be recognizing its failure.
The Church has always had and still has a clear and precise role: since the beginning of the arrival of the regime to power by democratic means, the Church, through the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, has warned, denounced and exhorted about the erroneous ideas of the Government, it has had a prophetic voice that has brought as consequences on the one hand the repudiation of the ruling party and its followers, on the other hand it has become the only institution with credibility and moral foundation in the face of the disastrous situation of the country.
At present, when the crisis has reached unimaginable levels, the Church, through the different pastoral agents, has tried to respond to so many needs, concretely with parish canteens, health care, through Caritas, but it has not been enough and the great insistence is to ask the world for humanitarian aid, which the government does not accept or authorize.
It is important to remember that priests, consecrated and other pastoral agents who are the driving force of the Church, are also affected by the humanitarian crisis, priests and religious have already died for not getting medicines, in the seminaries, convents, schools, religious communities are also going hungry; now more than ever the Venezuelan Church is being tested, because with hunger it has to feed the hungry people, with diseases it has to heal the wounded of the people, and in a situation of despair and chaos it must give testimony that it fully trusts in the God who provides everything.
My bishop sent me to Rome precisely to serve the hungry people.
I wanted to study Liturgy to deepen the art of celebrating the Mystery of the Redemption in the midst of the people and for the people, immediately the Bishop agreed with my request and we began to make the arrangements to come to Rome to study, the thing was not very easy for many factors: first of all the economic, already in Venezuela was living the consequences of the profound political deterioration; then I was already over 40 years old.
But we have a saying that goes like this: "what belongs to the priest goes to the Church", in the sense that if a project is in God's plans, the obstacles are only steps to achieve it, and so it happened that the Lord opened the possibility through a fellow priest of my diocese who is studying in Rome: Through a colleague of his, he found out that a parish priest in Rome was looking for a student priest as a collaborator in his parish, and that is how God paved the way and guided me to come to Rome through the Vicariate as a parish collaborator.
It is wonderful, it truly teaches the universality of the Church: to go to Rome, to be able to be formed and to return to the diocese to better serve the Venezuelan people.
"I am aware that when I return to Venezuela, whatever mission the Bishop entrusts me with, it will not be easy, I know that I will find a people in agony, that I must console, I ask God every day to help me to renew my faith and my vocation to be able to trust Him and give the best of myself, in favor of my Church and my country.
If the situation remains as it is now, it would be very hard because it would be to see the people die without having viable solutions, and I believe that God will not allow this, and if the government changes or sees its radical and criminal posture, the recovery of Venezuela will be very slow and difficult, but it is here where the Church in all its members has an important role, that would be the great challenge of Christians, of priests, of consecrated people, not to look for culprits but to create values and conscience so as not to repeat history.
The big question of many people outside the country is: How can I help? The main help is the prayer of supplication so that God may have mercy on these people, and grant them fidelity in the trial so that after death they may be resurrected with glory.
Materially it is a bit complicated since there is no humanitarian channel, the aid in medicines and food must be done very intelligently, there are many people of good will who have created associations and collect medicines and money to pay for particular shipments that are sent to different charities of the dioceses of Venezuela, Others help by covering the food expenses of seminarians through the dioceses directly, and others help priests who are being trained outside the country to return better prepared to face this humanitarian crisis, at this moment the people need a lot of company and encouragement and the Lord does it through the ministers and missionaries who give testimony that Christ is in the midst of the suffering people to comfort and save.
I pray to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the patronage of Coromoto to keep us firm in faith and solid in hope so that we may be faithful to our vocation of service in the midst of the difficult trial".
