Saúl Ruiz García is a priest of the Diocese of Tabasco in Mexico. Two months ago he was ordained to the priesthood by his bishop.
At the age of 15, he discovered God's call while participating in an adolescent movement in his parish in the municipality of Nacajuca, in the diocese of Tabasco, Mexico. "The witness of life of the priests who accompanied us in the parish was an inspiration to listen to the voice of God whispering in my ear: "Come, follow me," he says.
After finishing his university studies, he responded to the call that God had made to me seven years earlier, but that every day he remembered as the first time: "Come, follow me".
"Since 2016 I have been pursuing my theological studies at the University of Navarra thanks to the support I receive from you.
This year 2020 has been a very difficult year, and we probably could not have imagined living this situation.
In spite of this, I have experienced the grace of God in my life, because last May 31 I received the diaconate ordination in the parish of St. Nicholas in Pamplona. It was a different celebration, lived in the intimacy of the Bidasoa International Seminary, sharing with the seminarians and priests who were very close to me, because due to the pandemic situation, it was not possible for many more people to accompany us as we would have liked.
I had the opportunity to travel to my diocese in June of this year, where the situation was somewhat complicated with regard to the pandemic. There were no Eucharistic celebrations with the presence of the people, and I had to follow the transmissions that were made through social networks.
It was already on August 15 when I received a call from my bishop informing me that he had made the decision to perform my priestly ordination on August 31, two days before my return to Spain, because I had to continue with my biblical studies.
The priestly ordination was even more intimate than the diaconate ordination, only my father and my brothers (10 people invited) could accompany me and, as it was held in the Major Seminary of my diocese, only the seminarians and the priests of the formation team were present, everything was behind closed doors.
During my seminary formation, nine years in total, when I was thinking about ordination to the priesthood, I was looking forward to sharing this moment with the people of God, but when the time came, this was not possible due to the situation in which we find ourselves. Despite this, I have not ceased to feel the spiritual support that many people, friends and acquaintances have expressed to me."
"I am grateful for the enormous work they do so that we, priests and seminarians, can continue our formation, a formation with a great vision of the universality of our Church.
May God and our Mother the Virgin of Guadalupe bless you abundantly."
