He entered the seminary at the age of 17 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 6, 2023 in the Almudena Cathedral along with twelve other companions. He belongs to the presbyterate of the diocese of Madrid.
His youthfulness and demeanor are appealing and captivating. Although God is the one who changes hearts, presence, youth and our way of presenting ourselves is also very important in the century of the image:
"Youth is a great asset today, certainly. People get things in their eyes... But all of that has a ceiling that is soon touched, especially when you're trying to help someone grow in faith. I have no doubt that God has called me young for a reason and is making use of it. But more than the image of a young priest, What I am discovering is the consequence of being young: not having a heart that is outdated by the worries of the world, but fresh and eager to love everyone without exception," he tells the CARF Foundation.
Javier is one of the thousands of priests that the CARF Foundation cooperates in their integral formation. As soon as he finished his biosanitary baccalaureate, he began his studies for the priesthood at the Bidasoa International Seminary, where he stayed for three years.
"The experience was a real family experience. The beginning is very peculiar because you meet almost a hundred people from more than twenty different countries. But I remember that the Latin Americans welcomed me, despite my seventeen years of age, very normally. Little by little you discover what a treasure each person and their culture is," he says.
From his time at Bidasoa, he is grateful for two situations that helped him in his vocation: "I had a saintly formator, Juan Antonio Gil TamayoHe died of lung cancer and was an unforgettable priestly example. The relationship with the formators was very stimulating. And the University of Navarra, with all its limitations, is a real luxury. I had very well prepared philosophy professors and theology was studied with great enthusiasm and freshness. They managed to introduce us to the great saints like St. Thomas or the Fathers of the Church. The professors were always available to reflect together, to recommend readings, and even to make leisure plans in which conversations about God were authentic theology," he describes.
Javier believes that all the students who pass through Bidasoa leave the seminary in love with the priesthood, Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
After these three years, he continued his priestly formation at the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid, where he was a member. Four years, including that of deacon, "also exciting. They were the last ones before my ordination, so in formation one does not mess around and it is more intense".
Friendship with other seminarians, especially those in his course, is one of the best things about these years in the Madrid seminary. "It is there that friendships are forged and during my time away from the seminary they have given me life. How important it is to surround yourself with good people who love you," he says.
Although he missed a little more cultural activity during these years, he is grateful, however, for how the seminary has managed to insert him into what will be the future of his life, with the practices in the parishes on weekends.
"But I must confess that any preparation falls short of the challenge we face when we leave. One very positive thing is that we are fortunate to live in a diocese with a lot of spiritual strength and it is impressive to perceive it in the youth meetings, diverse charisms, very lively parishes, etc.".
And after these seven years, the big day came: his priestly ordination (although the diaconate was also very beautiful. Javier tells us about his experience:
"From the priestly ordination I remember very vividly the joy of the people who have always accompanied us.. It helps us to remember how important it is to receive from God the gift of ordination and, personally, if that was the joy of my loved ones, it helped me to imagine what Jesus' joy would be like to see us accept such an important vocation."
This was the thought that he pondered throughout his ordination: "How much I was looking forward to pleasing Jesus with all this. And I asked him and his Mother to be faithful forever, never to fail in this commitment of love that had only just begun.
A striking and beautiful moment was the consecration of the ordination. "We were the ordinands, the friends of my class, surrounding the altar and concelebrating with the Cardinal. Seeing their faces and thinking that we were born for this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced. My desire to bring Jesus to the whole world, to bring him to earth to give light and peace, grew much more."
And then his first Mass, which is also a very moving moment. "From the first Mass I remember my voice cracking at the words of the consecration. It is difficult to explain what is going through the priest's head at that moment. The words are practically said unconsciously, because more than understanding them, you contemplate them. More than pronouncing them, you listen to them. I hope that no routine can extinguish this flame of living love".
And what is life like for a young priest in the Madrid neighborhood of Vallecas? Javier is assigned to the pastoral unit of the parish of El Buen Pastor y Nuestra Señora del Consuelo.
"The only infallible resource to reach the people is to ask God with names and surnames for the people of my parish and to love them very much, even better than they expect to be loved. The challenge here is not that they know how to love Jesus, but that we priests know how Jesus wants them. In this way we do not impose our criteria and God's people truly draw closer to their Lord".
"But beyond this," Javier continues, "I can say something about my experience: sport has helped me win people to God; to share with the young people amusements, hobbies or even to learn them with them, to speak about the truth of the Gospel without deceit, but with much patience and prudence; to promote confession and to explain well the signs and moments of the Mass, so that they do not get bored, but are filled with affection because they know it better... With the older people I must admit that my age makes me almost all the work. I am a mixture between their father and their grandson. All it takes is a smile, listening to what they say and praying a rosary together.
And in a Spain so secularized and with a shortage of vocations, how should a priest of the 21st century be, how can he reach people, especially young people? Javier does not believe that being a priest today is more difficult than in other times.
"I fear success much more than failure. The great virtue of the Word of God is humility. Y the present times are a good breeding ground for the humility of priests. In this way, we will take up the challenges, the parishes to revive and the hearts to heal with greater purity," he says.
This young priest has seen firsthand hand the power of ideologies in young people of the 21st century. "It is very frustrating to see people living in lies and suffering because they cannot open their eyes. But this also helps us to put hope only in God and his preciously entrusted Church, not in a church full of works of art, buildings it cannot fill and dignities that no one recognizes anymore."
Finally, he is grateful for the work of the CARF Foundation and its benefactors: "The work of the CARF Foundation is the closest thing to the Eucharist that I know: few see what really happens, the miracle is impressive, but it costs the shedding of small drops of blood and sweat of a good handful of people with an impressive love for Jesus and his Church. Only faith can bring about something like this.
For this reason, for him, collaborating with the formation of priests is, however, the best investment one can make: he earns heaven for himself (as Jesus says in Mt 10:42) and invests in the best way to make a better world by drowning evil in an abundance of good.
"We priests must be very literate, because it is not only that lies are rampant, but also that few believe in the truth. It is no longer enough to communicate the truth with homilies, but it is very urgent a formation to communicate the truth in an attractive, beautiful and close way", concludes the youngest priest in Spain.
Marta SantínJournalist specializing in religious information.
