"I, Artur Hugo Amorim Portugal, am a Brazilian seminarian, a native of Rio de Janeiro, belonging to the Archdiocese of this city. I am currently 23 years old. I am pursuing my academic studies of the Bachelor of Sacred Theology at the University of Navarra and I reside at the International Ecclesiastical College Bidasoa.
In 2017 I entered the seminary after a certain period of vocational discernment together with my parish priest. From a very early age my parents instilled in me the Catholic faith. During adolescence, at a time of moving away from active living in the parish, I felt a great inner emptiness, so, at the age of 15, I decided to receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
From a personal encounter with the love of God in the Holy Mass, in the person of the priest and in the Christian community, especially with the young people, I began to feel the Lord's call to a holy life and, at the same time, to a special mission. Since then, my heart has been filled with great enthusiasm to seek God intensely and to fulfill his will faithfully in the service of my brothers and sisters, and thus imitate Jesus Christ, giving my life for the Kingdom of God.
Today, I can assure you even more that I have no regrets about having abandoned my personal projects and the vanities of this world to throw myself entirely into the paths of God, which are beyond what any earthly longing can offer me. God continues to surprise me every day and, in spite of my many weaknesses, I see his work progressively taking place in my life.
