Robinson Alejandro Jiménez is a 33 year old Venezuelan priest who began his pastoral life as a priest at the parochial vicar of the Immaculate Conception parish in Punto Fijo, (Falcón - Venezuela) an area of hamlets where he served more than 40 communities. He recounts the problems and difficulties that his people continue to face.
I was born in Punto fijo, Falcón state (Venezuela) July 8, 1987, in a very Catholic family. I was baptized in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Punto Fijo, on August 29, 1987. I received the sacrament of the Eucharist on July 4, 1998 in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Coromoto in Punto Fijo. One year later, I received the sacrament of Confirmation on December 22, 2001, at Our Lady of Bethlehem Parish.
My vocation could be said to have begun at the age of 13, when I felt that call of the Lord from the service at the altar, as an altar server. One of the calls where I felt that the Lord was calling me with more intensity was the altar server. was during the celebration of the holy paschal triduum, in which the Lord invited me to give Him an answer to be His priest for the service of His people.
At the age of 19, I entered the St. John Paul II major seminary, where I studied philosophy; then my bishop sent me to the Nuestra Señora del Socorro major seminary in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela, to study theology.
"My vocation could be said to have begun at the age of 13, when I felt that call from the Lord from serving at the altar, as an altar boy."
Robinson Alejandro Jimenez is a 33 year old Venezuelan priest who began his pastoral life as parochial vicar of the Immaculate Conception parish in Punto Fijo, (Falcon - Venezuela) an area of hamlets where he served more than 40 communities. One of the moments where he felt that the Lord was calling him with more intensity was in the celebration of the holy Easter Triduum, in which the Lord "invited me to give him an answer to be a priest". After his ordination, the bishop sent him to a parish in the peripheries of his diocese where he had to serve his brothers who suffer the most, the poorest.
After two years of theology, my bishop decided to give a one-year break to my formation to the priesthood, something that was not easy for me, but my bishop wanted to send me for a year to a parish with religious priests called missionary servants of the Word. A pastoral work where I performed it in obedience.
It was a learning experience to prepare myself to serve the people of God, a humble parish in the peripheries of the diocese. After completing my pastoral mission, I finished my theology studies, which are proper to the seminarists, at the Jesús Buen Pastor major seminary in the Bolívar state of Venezuela.
On February 21, 2015, I was ordained a deacon by Monsignor Roberto Luckert León, Archbishop of Coro and Apostolic Administrator of the full see of the Diocese of Punto Fijo. After six months, I was ordained priest in the minor basilica of the Cathedral of Santa Ana de Coro, on August 15, 2015, on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, by Monsignor Roberto Luckert León, in the company of all the clergy of the state of Falcón.
It was a moment filled with the Grace of the Lord where I became a priest of Him, a priest of the New Covenant; one of the most joyful moments of my life for the service of the universal Church.
"This is the reality that my Venezuelan people sadly suffer: many people lack daily food."
"One of the experiences that marked me the most in this parish was seeing children waiting for food waste in the garbage bins so that they could eat. This impression prompted me to start the work of the parish caritas. This is the reality that my Venezuelan people sadly suffer: many people lack daily food. This work strengthened my ministry as a priest of Christ in loving the poorest, just as our Master taught us in his public ministry. In service and merciful love for our neighbor," says Father Robinson.
My pastoral work as a priest began as parochial vicar of the Immaculate Conception parish. It was an area of hamlets that the parish priest and I served more than 40 communities. It was a very large parish. The experience was very pleasant and rewarding and I stayed there for four months.
After this period of time, I was transferred by pastoral necessity to a parish called Santo Cristo de las Piedras and was appointed pastor in one of the peripheral areas of the diocese, where I had the opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters who suffer the most, the poorest.
One of the experiences that marked me the most in this parish was seeing children waiting for food waste in the garbage bins so they could eat. This impression prompted me to start the work of the parish caritas.
This is the reality that my Venezuelan people sadly suffer.Many people lack daily nourishment. This work strengthened my ministry as a priest of Christ in loving the poorest as our Master taught us in his public ministry. In service and merciful love for our neighbor.
After four and a half years of work in this parish serving the poorest of the poor, my bishop decided to transfer me to Our Lady of Bethlehem parish in my diocese as parish administrator.
Now, my bishop has thought it appropriate for me to continue my priestly formation, in order to train the lay people of our diocese. So, he sent me to Rome where I am currently studying at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, in the faculty of dogmatic theology, to learn more and more about our faith and to be able to defend it with solid arguments.
My formation in Rome brings me closer to the Lord every day so that I can be a better disciple and bring many souls closer to Him.
Thank you all the benefactors the great work they do for CARF and for the formation of priests.
