Her testimony is especially addressed to young people: "If you are young and you are reading my testimony, it can be a great start for you, when you have difficulty praying the rosary, just pray three Hail Marys a day.
Elias is the eldest of four siblings. He was born on April 25, 2001 in Friedberg, Germany, but has always lived in Mering, a small town in Bavaria. His parents grew up on small village farms in very Catholic families, and to them he owes his faith. "I liked family life, the simple life, going to school... In school I did quite well, especially in mathematics, but I didn't like studying anyway," the religious adds.
His life took a turn when he joined the Boy Scouts., Without them, I would certainly not be in the seminary today.
In the weekly meetings with this group they played games, reenacted plays, learned interesting things, made crafts with wood and rope, etc. But the star activity was the summer camps, two weeks enjoying nature in a European city. "We cooked at campfires and had a great time. We always had a priest with us, so we had daily mass, rosary and catechism. My best friends have been the ones I met in the Scouts. I will be eternally grateful for those years, for all the experiences that made me who I am today," he confesses.
When Elias Baier started high school, his life took another turn and things got worse. "I started getting worse and worse grades, and in the end I wasn't studying at home at all. If at the beginning I was still devouring piles of books, especially adventure books, now I spent my time in front of the computer. This made me more and more incapable of having good relationships until, at the age of 16, I felt quite lonely, hiding more and more in the virtual world," he admits bluntly.
But again, the Scouts saved him from that dangerous slope. A two-week trip to Rome, enjoying the expansive hills, mountain hikes into the city (despite the heat) and glimpses of the Vatican were the lifeline Baier needed at the time. There they consecrated themselves to the Virgin in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the mother church of all Marian churches.
"At this consecration we promised to try to pray at least one mystery of the rosary every day. I really wanted to take it seriously. In the end, the first week after camp, I didn't even pray one mystery a day.... Maybe you know those good resolutions that you make during retreats, but when you go home you fail horribly. I want to encourage you, especially the young people, to try anyway, because my story doesn't end here," Elias shares with the CARF Foundation.
Two weeks after the camp, Our Lady granted him a very special grace: he was able to pray a whole rosary a day, and for a girl he had just met!
Elias Baier thinks and asks us to think that "if you are young and you are reading my testimony, it can be a great start for you. When you have difficulty praying the rosary, simply pray three Hail Marys a day for your future wife or husband (stop reading for a moment and think of an appropriate time in your daily routine)."
Let us return to her conversion story. Our Lady took this consecration very seriously and it began to transform his whole life. In the following months a large group of friends was born, and, at that time, it was crucial for him to have Catholic friends. "I'm sure that without them I wouldn't be in the seminary now," he insists.
This change was impressive because Our Lady and the rosary helped him to abandon computer games and instead he began to make parkour -He became fond of photography and took up reading again.
An adoration chapel was opened in his parish. "I began to visit Jesus frequently, because in His presence I knew I was truly accepted, loved and forgiven. Over time I discovered that only by putting Him first in my life could I live an existence that mattered."
This decision led him to attend Mass on weekdays in addition to continuing to pray the rosary. At the time, he wanted to get married, but little by little God put in his heart the idea that perhaps he could become a priest. "He gave me the grace to trust that whatever He wanted for my life would make me happy, because He, as a good Father, wanted me to be happy. He also gave me the certainty that He would show me His will at the right time."
In 2019 he finished high school and still didn't quite know what to do with his life. He decided to take a gap year to explore the world. With the Boy Scouts undertook a five-week trip through the United States: hiking and hitchhiking through Vancouver, Canada, Los Angeles... a very valuable experience, in which they got to know the country and its people in a unique way.
Funny Elias Baier tells us that "once we arrived at ten o'clock at night in a small village on the coast. All the stores were closed except for an ice cream parlor that was being cleaned by a man. When we asked him if he knew of a place to spend the night, he offered us the possibility of sleeping in the ice cream shop and told us we could eat as much as we wanted. You can imagine that we didn't think twice.... We met very friendly and welcoming people even though we were just strangers".
During his sabbatical year, he also worked as a tinsmith in Uruguay, in a mission of the community of which he is now a part: Obra de Jesús Sumo Sacerdote. And those were the most beautiful weeks of his life, even though he could only communicate with people with his hands, a few words of English and a little Spanish that they taught him. But they immediately made him feel at home.
"With some of the young people I made good friends. I was impressed by their example of authentic Christian life. I was impressed by their contagious joy, their simplicity, their faithfulness to go to Mass every day. I spent a lot of time in prayer and, after the first few weeks, God gave me clarity about my vocation to be a priest. All the reasons against the priesthood disappeared and what remained was the desire to live only for God and for everyone to enter Heaven".
Back home a few months later, during a retreat, he decided to do a year of discernment in the community Obra de Jesús Sumo Sacerdote because, in addition, he and his family always went to family gatherings organized by this community. "As I got to know it better in Uruguay, I really liked the way of doing mission, the family spirit and the spirituality of intimate love for Mary and the Eucharist."
The summer before entering the seminary he undertook one last adventure. There is a 600-kilometer route called The path of dreamsFrom Munich to Venice, which he wanted to do. Without much preparation he set off, most of the time accompanied by a friend. It was June and there was still a lot of snow in the mountains. They slept outdoors in the forest and cooked on a small gas stove.
"During this adventure, I experienced God's providence. Once, for example, it was the most intense day of the trip, we had already been walking for twelve hours and it was getting dark. We were still on the mountain ridge, and it started to rain. We prayed to find a roof because we only had a tarp and our feet were already completely wet. On the map there was a hut indicated, and not too far down the hill surrounded by meadow. We expected to find it open, but it was obviously closed and there wasn't even an awning to protect us. But then we saw a small chapel about a hundred meters away, which turned out to be just a room with a cross. We decided to spend the night there. Five minutes after we brought our things there, there was such a dense fog outside that we could no longer see the hut. The next morning, the whole surrounding meadow was flooded because it rained so much. Staying outside would have meant waking up in a lake. Heavenly Father takes care of his children!".
In September 2020, he entered the pre-seminary of the Work of Jesus the High Priest located on the outskirts of Rome. After a few months he knew he wanted to stay. In the seminary there are eight different nationalities, from three continents and he is very grateful to live with such incredible confreres.
"After two years I began my studies in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and I am very grateful for what I can learn here every day. I do not regret a single day of this path of formation to become a priest. God has always given me what I needed. Obviously, there are difficult moments, but suddenly God takes you back and fills your heart with his love. Finally, I want to thank Mary for having brought me here, where I am now; that she has always guided me, that she is always close to me and to all of you, dear friends and benefactors of the CARF Foundation, who have done so much and do so much so that young people like me can be formed to be good and holy priests", concludes Elias Baier happily and gratefully.
Gerardo Ferrara
BA 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.
