Providing financial support, praying for vocations, volunteering your time, or spreading the word about the CARF Foundation’s work... Being a benefactor can take many forms, but they all share the same goal: to help seminarians and priests diocesan clergy from around the world receive the training they need to later serve in their home dioceses.
When we think of a benefactor, the first thing that probably comes to mind is someone who makes a financial contribution. And while donations are essential to making the formation of seminarians and priests possible, Collaborating with the CARF Foundation goes far beyond that.
This is evident from the experiences of some of our donors, members, and friends—people with different lives, professions, and circumstances who have found their own way to help. Because we can’t all contribute in the same way, but we can all do something.
The Benefactors They are an essential part of the Foundation’s mission. Thanks to their generosity, seminarians, diocesan priests, and religious from various countries are able to receive an academic, personal, and spiritual education that many of their home dioceses could not finance on their own.
They study primarily at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra in Pamplona. The seminarians also complete their comprehensive formation at international seminaries such as Sedes Sapientiae, in Rome, and Bidasoain Pamplona.
Afterward, they return to their countries and dioceses to carry out their pastoral work there. That is why a benefactor’s support goes beyond simply helping with their studies. Its fruits can multiply throughout its entire life priestly of the person who has received that training.
The first way to help is also one of the most essential: to contribute financially to the formation of priests and seminarians.
There are vocations in many parts of the world, but dioceses have very limited resources to provide them with adequate formation.
Alex, one of the benefactors of the CARF Foundation, sums it up very vividly: «They have the calling. We have the media.».
After meeting young people from different countries in person in Rome, he realized that many dioceses that lack financial resources are, nevertheless, an extraordinary source of vocations.
The call already exists. The challenge is to ensure that a lack of resources does not prevent these young people from adequately preparing for the priesthood.
Therefore, Every donation, regardless of the amount, helps support a calling and to make their education possible.
Pray for priests and for the holiness of vocations
There's another way to help that's available to everyone: prayer.
David, a benefactor of the CARF Foundation, puts it in particularly simple terms: «We can all pray and help spread the word about this great work for the diocesan Church.».
Praying for vocations means asking that new callings to the priesthood arise, but it also means providing spiritual guidance to those who have already answered those callings.
The years of formation are demanding. Later on, there will also be the challenges inherent in the life of a priest and in the mission that each one receives from his bishop.
That is why one of the CARF Foundation's main missions is precisely to promote prayer for priests and vocations.
Perhaps someone is unable to contribute financially at a given time. That doesn't mean they can't be part of this mission, since the Prayer also supports vocations.
Time, professional experience, connections, or communication skills can serve as other forms of collaboration.
David discovered this when he began to play an active role in the CARF Foundation while balancing that with his job and a large family.
Their experience shows that helping the Church can be part of everyday life. You don't need to have a lot of time; everyone can contribute according to their circumstances.
Some people may get very involved; others may participate only occasionally. The important thing is to discover what we can do to help others.
Many benefactors, partners, and friends discover the true scope of the Foundation when they meet seminarians and priests in person at the places where they are being trained.
That's what happened to Margarita and Manuel during a trip to Rome. There they met young people from completely different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, united by a shared calling and a common purpose: to receive training so they can return to their hometowns and serve their communities.
The experience allowed them to discover, in a very concrete way, the universality of the Church, therefore to publicize Sharing these stories is also a way to contribute.
Talking about a vocation, sharing the A Priest's Testimony Or explaining to someone else why priestly formation is necessary can help that person discover a reality they were previously unaware of.
Luis, another benefactor of the CARF Foundation, emphasizes precisely the significance of the priest both within and outside the Church. During his ministry, a priest will celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments, proclaim the Gospel, and accompany families, patients, young and old alike, and will be there for some of the most important—and also the most difficult—moments in many people’s lives.
Some will also take on responsibilities in the formation of other seminarians or priests when they return to their home countries. In this way, A priest's training has a multiplier effect.
There is one recurring theme in many of the testimonials from those who work with the CARF Foundation: experiencing this reality firsthand changes the way you understand aid.
Names and numbers take on a human face. Behind every scholarship is a young man who has left his family and his country to prepare for the priesthood. Behind every diocese with limited resources are communities in need of priests. And behind every future priest are many people who, in one way or another, have helped make his formation possible.
That's why being a benefactor doesn't just mean paying for someone's education. It means to be part of a story that begins with a calling and continues long after ordination to the priesthood.
As we have seen, you can contribute financially to the formation of seminarians and diocesan priests. You can pray for them. You can volunteer your time. You can put your professional expertise to work for the Foundation. You can share your stories and help others learn about this mission.
David recalls a simple, popular saying to explain this: those who have a lot can give a lot; those who have less can give less. And he adds something fundamental to that idea: We can all pray and spread the word, which is the largest form of assistance.
That is probably one of the keys to what it means to be a benefactor, partner, or friend of the CARF Foundation. It isn't so much that everyone does the same thing, but rather that each person asks themselves what they can contribute.
Margarita, Manuel, Alex, David, and Luis came to the CARF Foundation in different ways. Some through friends; others through the Foundation’s publications; still others after meeting the seminarians in person. Their motivations and ways of contributing also vary.
However, their experiences all point to the same conviction: Helping to form good priests is a concrete way to serve the universal Church.
A calling arises from a God's call. But along the way, he needs prayer, formation, guidance, and material resources as well. That is where each of us can find our place.
Pray. Spread the word. Get involved. With your help, seminarians and diocesan priests from around the world can receive a well-rounded education so they can return to their dioceses and serve thousands of people.
carf@fundacioncarf.orgLandline: +34 914 029 082Mobile: +34 638 078 51145 Conde de Peñalver Street.
