Ramón Antonio Santana Castillo is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic.
He was born in the community of San Rafael in the east of the Dominican Republic. He was baptized at the age of 4 in the community where he was born, but then his family had to leave to move to the province of San Pedro de Macoris, where they were looking for quality of life and guaranteed education for their children.
Ramon began his primary school studies, showing more mischief than good grades. As an adolescent he is more dedicated to his studies, and at the same time he shows a special love for baseball, without forgetting to excel in basketball, soccer, martial arts and other sports.
Sports and his passion for drawing brought him back to the Church, which gave him the grace of baptism.
In 1995 he was part of the Anti-Osio Movement (MAO), an initiative of the Spanish priest Julio Silla Navarro, in which he offered a space for formation, recreation and spiritual life for all young people and adolescents of the parish and its surroundings. Attracted by the artistic drawing, he joined MAO and was captivated by the joy of the elderly priest Julio Silla. Immediately parish life began to be part of his priorities, he served as an altar boy, was part of the community of adolescents Santo Domingo Savio and then the youth group Don Bosco.
Silla as his pedagogue, he received from him the teachings, motivations and corrections he knew he had to count on to be a good man: "Ramón Antonio, if you fall a thousand times, get up a thousand and one times, but get up".
Silla, seeing his passion for young people, his eternal joy and his special love for Jesus in the Eucharist, provoked in the adolescent the questions "Why not me? From then on he did nothing but look for answers to his questions.
He met a seminarian, began vocational meetings, and in 1998 he entered the minor seminary of St. Peter the Apostle, finished high school and was sent to the propaedeutic. At the end of the year, he entered the Pontifical Major Seminary of St. Thomas Aquinas. Between 2003 and 2012 he obtained his licenses in philosophy and theology.
On June 29, 2012, the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the long-awaited day of his priestly consecration arrived. It is the same day on which all their yearnings for service, donation and dedication to the Church should be focused on their first mission.
In his first year, the bishop entrusted him with the pastoral guidance of two parishes, the first of which was San José de El Valle, the same parish where he had once received the grace of baptism.
That same year he was appointed diocesan director of youth ministry and delegate for the national commission.
His heart burned for youth work! Young people were his passion, the place where he could shout out that he loved Christ and his bride the Church.
Three years later he received a new assignment, rector of St. Peter the Apostle minor seminary, and at the same time national director of youth ministry, services that he carried out with dedication and enthusiasm for more than three years.
The year 2018 was really special: it was appointed pastor of the parish of St. Joseph the Worker, yes, the same parish where he embraced his baptismal faith, where he met Father Silla, the same parish where he felt the call of Jesus to serve him with full joy in the priestly vocation.
I leave my life in God's hands. God and his plans have brought me to Rome to continue my formation.
"Today I am in Rome, at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, very close to the tomb of Peter and taking on a new mission as a student of Institutional Communication.
I am very grateful to God and to you for this opportunity you are giving me and above all for all your prayers. I keep you very present in mine."
Supports a vocation anywhere in the world
A full scholarship of 18,000 euros is the amount necessary for a candidate to live and study for one year at their university locations, whether in Rome or Pamplona. The neediest dioceses in the world require a full scholarship for their candidates. In many cases, the diocese covers part of this cost and a lesser amount is required, which is always indicated with the candidate's application.
What does a full scholarship consist of?
More than 800 bishops from all five continents request study grants for their candidates through scholarships. Thanks to benefactors like you, CARF meets most of the requests, but the needs are growing and we want all requests to be met.
In the graph you can see the composition of a full scholarship.
If there were no priests, there would be no Church. Let no vocation be lost for lack of resources.
Margarita, CARF donor
For inquiries, please contact carf@fundacioncarf.org
Bank Transfers to CaixaBank
ES39 - 2100 - 1433 - 8602 - 0017 - 4788
