Jeevan was born in 1998 in India, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His life has not been easy. The conversion to Christianity from Hinduism in a province where the vast majority of the population is Hindu (over 90.89%) is even dangerous.
When he was just 4 years old, tragedy cut short his family's happiness with the death of his father Bhaskar. His mother, Parvathi, and Jeevan, an only child, were left alone. "No one came to our aid." «El único refugio que encontramos fue Jesús».
Parvathi empezó poco a poco a ir a una iglesia protestante porque algunos familiares lejanos praticaban esta religión. Un encuentro providencial con un sacerdote la llevó junto a su pequeño hijo a la Iglesia Católica, donde encontró mucho consuelo y mucha ayuda, algo que nadie les daba.
Thus began his journey from Hinduism to Christianity. His caste and Hindu community disapproved of his conversion to Christianity. To this day, Jeevan and his mother are the only Christians in their entire clan and family, which is still Hindu. "But my mother never gave up in the face of hardship and continued with her faith. I learned from her to go to church and then to serve at Mass. We were baptized in 2005 - I was 7 years old - and, at last, we began our journey as children of God and members of the Catholic Church.
Their happiness was immense, even though life was still full of difficulties. Parvathi remained the sole breadwinner of the family. In spite of everything, he managed to give his son a good education and pass on his faith to him. "I have learned a lot from his pious practices and moral values."
El amor de su madre por la Santa Misa despertó en Jeevan la idea de hacerse sacerdote para servir al pueblo de Dios. Con 13 años se lo contó a su madre. «Ella acogió con alegría mi deseo, pero me pidió que me tomara un tiempo y reflexionara porque era demasiado joven para tomar una decisión tan grande. Sin embargo, esa idea seguía en mi corazón mientras iba creciendo».
«Mi madre desempeñó un papel fundamental en mi vocación. Realmente le agradezco su valiente paso de offer her only son to the service of the Lord in a really complicated situation for a woman in India, who has already lost her husband and now lives alone without her son near her."
El comienzo en el seminario tampoco fue fácil. Jeevan tuvo muchas dificultades para aprender y ponerse al día con las asignaturas. Venía de una religión y de una cultura completamente diferentes. Sin embargo, por la gracia de Dios consiguió superarlas todas. Durante 3 años hizo el curso de discernimiento para el sacerdocio a la vez que terminaba los estudios seculares en Eluru. Los primeros años en el seminario fueron duros al dejar su hogar. Sin embargo, la nostalgia pasó con el tiempo y el deseo de ser sacerdote se hizo cada vez más fuerte.
Durante ese tiempo, su vocación sufrió también un tiempo de prueba. Los formadores del seminario le pidieron que se tomara un descanso de sus estudios al sacerdocio. Al ser hijo único y su madre viuda, le aconsejaron que volviera a casa por vacaciones para discernir con fortaleza su vocación al ministerio sacerdotal. Estas vacaciones se convirtieron en tres años de estudios seculares. Fue un periodo arduo que sirvió para fortalecer su vocación.
Finally, he received a letter inviting him to re-enter the seminary. After two years of licentiate in philosophy in Visakhapatnam, his bishop, Bishop Rayarala Vijay Kumar, offered him to continue his theological studies in Rome.
"It had never crossed my mind that I could get to study in Rome, the eternal city. But God knows best and does everything, so I arrived in Italy in August 2022."
Arriving at the Collegio Ecclesiastico Internazionale Sedes Sapientiae He took a two-month intensive Italian course, which did not free him from having problems with the language. Another difficulty was the food, it is not easy to adapt to such a radical change. After a few months, everything became easier every day.
As for my studies, the first semester has been a great effort for me, because not only do I have to master Italian in my daily life, but also and especially in my theological studies! But this semester is already different and I hope to do my best.
Gerardo FerraraBA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Head of the student body at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
