Samuel Pitcaithly joins the list of New Zealand student seminarians who have been trained in the 40 years of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (PUSC), in Rome. With this seminarian, there are now nine boys who have passed through the classrooms, libraries and programs of integral formation and personalized assistance of the university.
New Zealand is a country best known for the filming of the book written by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, and made into a film by director Peter Jackson, and by his hakathe traditional ceremonial dance of the Maori people, the indigenous people of the country, which is nowadays very famous all over the world thanks to the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks. However, no one knows Tolkien's religious New Zealand Middle Earth for its religiosity.
In fact, New Zealand society is highly secularized: a significant part of the population declares itself to have no religious affiliation. Samuel Pitcaithly is the only student from his country in the PUSC.
The story of Samuel, who was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on November 22, 1995, and who is currently studying philosophy at the University of New Zealand. Pontifical University of the Holy Crossthanks to a study grant from the CARF Foundation, is precisely the story of many young people in his country, who sometimes grew up far from the faith.
But even in that more distant life a spark can be lit that little by little becomes a fire. In fact, today this young student is a religious seminarian belonging to the Spanish community Siervos del Hogar de la Madre and he tells us his story illuminated by the vocational call to become a priest.
"My name is Samuel Pitcaithly, and I come from New Zealand, the country of The Lord of the Rings. I grew up in a Catholic family, but as with many young people today, faith was just another aspect of my life, without much importance.
By the grace of God, there was a youth group in our parish that I attended mainly to have fun with my friends. We received good training, and I found valuable companions who helped me a lot," Samuel tells us.
At the age of 17, during a camp for young Catholic leaders, Samuel had a very strong experience with God. On the last night there was a liturgy of reconciliation. They were given a pen and paper and asked to write down all their sins before going to confession.
"At first I wrote the usual: arguments, complaints... but soon the Lord began to remind me of things I had forgotten, hidden or minimized. I filled the whole paper and was surprised by the quantity. When I went to confession, when I received absolution, I felt an enormous weight fall from my shoulders and I experienced the love of Jesus with force. I truly understood that he had died for me. And I felt that I had to do something for Him in response."
Since then, he started praying and going to Mass on his own initiative. He helped with the youth group and continued his formation while studying engineering at the university. However, that initial fire was extinguished over time.
In his senior year, he decided to participate in a retreat. There, in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, he asked Jesus what he should do with his life. While all his friends were looking for work, Samuel felt an emptiness.
"I asked Jesus to help me find a job. And then, in my heart, I felt his clear voice: 'I want you to give me two years.
I was surprised. I didn't expect that. But I felt the same deep peace I had felt years before. In that confession; I knew that Jesus was guiding me," he recounts with emotion.
Some friends had told him about NET (National Evangelisation TeamsSamuel was a member of the National Evangelization Teams, a group of missionaries who work with young people in various countries. It seemed perfect to Samuel: he could serve the Lord, work with young people and see the world. He signed up and was sent to a parish in Dublin, Ireland.
"There we organized youth groups, catechesis, Confirmation preparation and collaborated in events such as. NightfeverThe event took place in the center of Dublin: an exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, praise music, candles, and volunteers inviting passersby to come in and spend a moment with Jesus.
Many, even those far from the faith, had very strong experiences there," he tells us.
"During one of those nights of NightfeverI saw a young priest in a cassock, juggling with fire surrounded by joyful young people. They were the Servants of the Home of the Mother. I was impressed by their joy, their youth, their passion for the faith." He got to know them and fell in love with their three missions:
At the end of that night he told a companion, "If God calls me to the priesthood, it will be with them."
That same year she went on a pilgrimage with them to Spain. When she was in the chapel of the Motherhouse, she felt she was at home. A year later, in 2020, he joined the community.
"Today, as I look back, I see clearly how God has guided me step by step. Today I have just finished my first year of studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. It is a blessing to be able to form myself in the heart of the Church, surrounded by seminarians and professors from all over the world, all seeking holiness," he says.
Samuel would like to thank the benefactors of the CARF Foundation for their prayers and support: "I am deeply grateful for all that you do to make this journey, mine and that of so many fellow seminarians and priests from all over the world, possible. I keep you very much in my prayers and, God willing, one day I will be able to offer Holy Mass for you and your intentions.
May God and Our Blessed Mother bless you abundantly!".
Gerardo FerraraDegree 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.
