Gustavo Zamudio belongs to the new batch of young Peruvian priests who are taking on important responsibilities in their dioceses. At only 32 years of age, he is already the pastor of the Immaculate Conception parish, in the city of LimaFrom there, he works tirelessly to bring the Gospel to all corners of a society in which a rapid secularization is also taking place.
His story - as he himself tells the CARF Foundation - was very similar to that of many other children in the district of La Victoria, a populous neighborhood of Lima. But one day God touched his heart deeply and when he was only 17 years old he entered the Santo Toribio de Lima seminary. "I dedicated myself to studying, but, above all, I spent a lot of time playing soccer with my friends," he says of his childhood.
His family was Catholic and with great devotion to the Lord of Miracles.I wanted to carry him on my shoulders since I was a child, but I didn't go to church regularly. In spite of everything, he adds, "I never questioned the existence of God, although later I had to learn more about the implications of believing in Jesus Christ.
It was precisely in his adolescence, when he was only 13 years old, that he began his vocational process. "A nun of the Daughters of St. Mary of the Heart of Jesus, who was my Religion teacher in high school, he invited me to join a group of boys who met at the parish on Saturday mornings. What I remember most is that he told me there was breakfast and soccer. I didn't need to know any more...", he recalls with a laugh.
He attended that meeting for the first time and discovered that it was a group of acolytes. Although this was new to him, he decided to join the group. Gustavo Zamudio assures that it was a propitious occasion to "meet for the first time personally a diocesan priest, Father Henry, whose testimony of priestly life was very important in my discernment process".
Another factor that stands out in this process was the prayer of the parish community for vocations to the priesthood. "He felt that my calling was, in a way, an answer from God to his prayers." This context in which he began to live his faith was a fundamental help for Gustavo Zamudio, because he points out that the first thing he learned was "to take my Christian life seriously, taking care of my life of piety".
In this way, the now priest assures us that only in this way did he discover that "without Christ life was not life. This was quite a radical step, since, due to the social atmosphere he had breathed since he was a child, it meant a real change in the ideals of life.
Little by little, and in a natural and gradual way, he affirms that he became aware "of an inner strength that urged me to follow the path of priestly life". Gustavo spoke to his parents and told them of his desire to become a priest. Although his family had other plans for him, he did not oppose and when he finished high school he was able to enter the seminary.
Just after his ordination to the priesthood and thanks to a help The CARF Foundation's support enabled him to study for a degree in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. "Given my family's economic condition, I never imagined traveling to the eternal city. For someone like me who had only been out of Peru for a few days before, it was a truly international experience," he adds.
Although geographically he was in Italy, Fr. Gustavo Zamudio affirms that "existentially" he felt a little bit in the whole world thanks to the catholicity of the Church. He adds: "It seems to me that there is no more immersive experience of the universality of the Church, of that blessed unity in plurality - also at the intellectual level - than studying in a pontifical university and in Rome".
Another aspect that What struck him during his time in Rome was "the vitality of the Catholic intellectual world", For, according to his own experience, it was a "living and dynamic intellectual tradition, embodied in the professors, mostly priests, and in the university classrooms".
If there is one thing that is clear to this priest, it is that all the formation he received during his time at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross is now of great help to him in his daily pastoral work. And about his studies of Philosophy at Rome assures: "It is helping me personally to reach an authentic adult faith that does not get carried away by the winds of fashion, of what is soon to pass".
Gustavo adds that "my philosophical studies in Rome are helping me to dialogue with the contemporary world, trying to make my own the legitimate concerns of the people of my time and seeking to offer the reasons for my hope to those who ask for them".
On a more pastoral level, the parish priest considers that this background has taught him to "know how to listen and analyze divergent ideas with respect and a critical spirit". In fact, he recognizes that both in In both the parish and the university where he teaches, young people openly ask him questions and raise objections about the faith.
"I think there is still much to be done in this first line of evangelization, with a proactive style that favors the truth to impose itself by its own force," admits this young priest.
In fact, for his teaching work at Unife, a private university in Lima, he says he has discovered during his time at Rome the witness of three saints who illuminate his ministry as a parish priest and who are fundamental to his priestly mission: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Josemaría Escrivá and St. Philip Neri.
Gustavo Zamudio already faces many responsibilities both as a parish priest and as a teacher, but no less are the challenges he faces as a young priest. For this reason, he believes that it is fundamental "to have a solid interior life so as not to cease to be men of God".
To this he adds the need for a "coherent theological and cultural formation to make the Word of God meaningful today. And finally, the pastor also stresses the importance of "priestly fraternity and friendship in view of a healthy management of one's affectivity".
Finally, Father Gustavo Zamudio would like to thank the work of the CARF Foundation and all its benefactors, thanks to whom he and many other acquaintances of his in Rome were able to further their studies.
"Do not stop betting on the good formation of priests. The Church needs pastors after the heart of Christ: pastors with a wise heart capable of offering spiritual and doctrinal guidance to their brothers and sisters. I entrust them in every Eucharist so that they may always feel co-responsible for the formation of those called to the priesthood and rediscover again and again the joy of giving," he concludes.
