Example drags. Let them tell it to Ygor dos Santosa young Brazilian priest who discovered his priestly vocation thanks to the faith and piety of his parish priest and a seminarian. Inspired by them, he decided to serve souls for the glory of God. Today he is a parish priest in a shantytown of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.
In a populous neighborhood of the large city of Rio de Janeiro, whose archdiocese is home to almost seven million people, slightly more than half of whom are Catholics, the young priest Ygor dos Santos. Not yet in his thirties, he is already pastor of Our Lady of Fatima and St. John of God in the Realengo neighborhood, where he shepherds a large flock of souls living in a society in which the Church is losing followers due to secularization and the advance of Protestant groups.
Ygor dos Santos confesses that He did not plan to become a priest. He thought about becoming a lawyer or even a computer scientist, because while he was studying he started a small computer maintenance office. In fact, his family in Brazil was not religious at all. So much so that he was not even baptized after birth. "When I was about five years old, I started to participate with my mother in a Protestant church. that was close to home, but we didn't stay there for long," explains this priest.
Shortly after, his mother came to know the chapel of Our Lady of Glory and St. Peter. It was in this place - he recounts - "where I began to receive catechesis for children and also to prepare for baptism. Each time I participated in these formation activities with more and more enthusiasm".
Soon, little Ygor joined the group of altar boys, and after making his First Holy Communion he also began to participate in other pastoral initiatives of the parish, especially in a group of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
As he grew closer and closer to God, his mother supported him every step of the way. And he remembers a phrase she said to him: "Son, whatever God's will is, if it makes you happy, I will support you and be with you". These words, he confesses, "warmed my heart and They left me more at ease when I had to take more concrete steps in my life of faith, since I am also an only child".
With each passing day he became more and more involved in the things of God. In fact, Ygor believes that his call to the priesthood came during catechesis thanks to a seminarian who supported his parish on weekends. "I was observing him as he carried out his pastoral duties, I appreciated his dedication to God, his piety.... Today he is also a priest, but I have never told him about his great influence on my Christian life," he says.
The example drags and this also happened to him with the priest of his parish, because he assures that it was beautiful to see how he served God with a surprising passion and an incredible zeal.
As the years went by, the idea of becoming a priest became a real possibility. "I talked about it with my friends in the parish and also with the parish priest. Together with him I was able to understand the signs of God in my life, and the doubts I had were resolved, leaving room for me to fulfill God's will in my life," she adds.
Finally, in 2014 he entered the seminary in Rio de Janeiro and in 2016 his bishop sent him to the. Bidasoa International Ecclesiastical CollegeThe experience in Pamplona, thanks to a grant from the CARF Foundation, where he studied his bachelor's degree in Theology at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra. "The experience in Pamplona was great, except for the cold," jokes Ygor, recalling his Brazilian origin.
From his stay in Navarra, what stands out the most was the great fraternity that existed despite the fact that there were many people coming from different countries with different cultures and languages. "The unity and fellowship was incredible, also the great family atmosphere that existed.This was very important because we were all far from our homes, families and friends," he says.
Although it may seem that Rio de Janeiro and Pamplona have little in common, the reality is that this priest assures that what he received in Bidasoa has helped him enormously in his pastoral work in this great city of Brazil, especially the experience of prayer that the seminary offers to the seminarians.
In his opinion, "having a schedule and a certain routine of prayer is important in parish life, since we often find ourselves involved in numerous pastoral tasks. And with this routine, God's people perceive that their priest is a man of prayer, that holiness is possible and also to love God every day in the ordinariness of their lives".
The prayer is something fundamental for him. For this reason, he insists on it when asked what a priest needs today to face the challenges and dangers he faces. "Closeness to God through prayer is fundamental. Without prayer we will not be able to move forward, is what keeps us going," he says emphatically.
But it also adds another important element: "We must have priest friends with whom to share the joys and also the difficulties of priestly life". Don Ygor dos Santos warns that "we cannot believe we are supermen and want to face all things alone. We won't make it! Only a priest understands another priest," he says.
Finally, Father Ygor has a special remembrance for the benefactors of the CARF Foundation. "I would like to thank them for all they have contributed for my priestly formation and for all the good you have done in my life and, through me, to the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro in a great country like Brazil. May God bless you always for your love for vocations and priestly formation", he concludes.
