{"id":227795,"date":"2026-01-29T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?p=227795"},"modified":"2026-01-29T16:46:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:46:40","slug":"seminarista-ugandes-vocacion-sacerdote-formacion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/seminarista-ugandes-vocacion-sacerdote-formacion\/","title":{"rendered":"Ugandan seminarian Samuel's vocation grew thanks to his family and the faith of his community."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the Diocese of Soroti, in eastern Uganda, to Pamplona, where today he is trained as a <strong>seminarian <\/strong>Ugandan, the story of Samuel Ebinu is that of a vocation that wants to become a priest; that is not born of an inspiration or an extraordinary moment, but of faith lived naturally, in the family and in his parish community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to the help of the partners, benefactors and friends of the CARF Foundation, Samuel is preparing for the priesthood at the <a href=\"https:\/\/seminariobidasoa.org\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/seminariobidasoa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bidasoa international seminar<\/a>, convinced that God continues to call everyone from the smallest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"de-soroti-a-pamplona-el-camino-de-un-seminarista-ugandes\">From Soroti to Pamplona: the path of a Ugandan seminarian<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel (1996) has been living in Spain for four years. He is in his final year of theology and is preparing to receive the priesthood. His formative path has brought him to Pamplona, where he studies in the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra and resides in Bidasoa, but his roots remain firmly anchored in his homeland and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abI'm looking forward to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unav.edu\/web\/facultad-de-teologia\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.unav.edu\/web\/facultad-de-teologia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">serving the Church<\/a> as a priest,\u00bb he says joyfully. He does not speak from theory, but from an experience of faith cultivated since childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83d\ude0d I ADMIRED MY PRIEST\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T4fpnOY8xBQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"una-fe-aprendida-en-casa\">The Christian family, cradle of vocations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel grew up in a large family: nine siblings, two girls and seven boys. Two of them, along with his father, have already passed away. Grief did not break the <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/familia-cristiana-amoris-laetitia\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/familia-cristiana-amoris-laetitia\/\">family faith<\/a>; strengthened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abI grew up in a Catholic home, united and full of peace, where faith was lived naturally,\u00bb he explains. Prayer, work and fraternity marked his childhood. Faith was not an add-on, but part of daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"cuando-la-vocacion-empieza-a-tomar-forma\">Samuel does not remember a sudden revelation. His vocation grew little by little, like something that was always there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abThe <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/vocacion-sacerdotal\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/vocacion-sacerdotal\/\">priestly vocation<\/a> is a special gift from God. In my case, the call grew silently, like a seed that God had put in my heart since childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a child he asked himself questions that others did not ask: what did a priest do, why did people listen attentively to his preaching, what did it really mean to serve God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a scene that sums up this early call well. During a catechetical interview, when he was asked to make the sign of the <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/viernes-santo-el-sentido-cruz-para-cristianos\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/viernes-santo-el-sentido-cruz-para-cristianos\/\">cross<\/a>, Samuel performed it as if he were a priest, imparting a blessing. A simple, childish gesture, but loaded with meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"soroti-una-iglesia-joven-y-viva-en-uganda\">Soroti: a young and lively Church in Uganda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"celebrar-la-fe-con-todo-el-cuerpo\"><strong>Celebrating faith with the whole body<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Diocese of Soroti is located in a region of vast green plains, where life is built in community. It is a young, deeply believing Church in a mostly Christian country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Soroti, the Mass is not routine. It is a lively, participatory, joyful celebration. \u00abThe songs with drums, the choirs and the processions strengthen the sense of community,\u00bb explains Samuel. There, the liturgy is not observed: it is lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-227802\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499330655957162;width:793px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Samuel-entrevista-fundacioncarf.webp 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Samuel Ebinu, Ugandan seminarian during the interview.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"evangelizar-desde-la-familia-y-la-comunidad\">Evangelizing from the family and the community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"comunidades-cristianas-de-base-y-compromiso-social\"><strong>Grassroots Christians with social commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The transmission of the faith begins at home. Family prayer, the rosary and participation in the parish are part of daily life. In addition to this, there are the basic Christian communities, small groups where the word is shared, faith is celebrated and solidarity is lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The parishes promote catechesis, youth groups and the formation of the laity. Schools and social pastoral care complete an evangelization that unites faith, education and human promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"faltan-sacerdotes-sobran-retos\">The vitality of the Church in Soroti coexists with a demanding reality: there is a lack of priests to serve very large territories and numerous communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abWe need more priests and a <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/formacion-de-sacerdotes\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/formacion-de-sacerdotes\/\">training<\/a> Samuel explains, \u00bbThere is a constant need for catechists and lay leaders to accompany young people and those who are suffering. Even so, his outlook is hopeful: faith continues to be strong, joyful and communitarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"evangelizar-hoy-testimonio-y-cercania\">Evangelizing today: witness and closeness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel is clear that evangelization today is not about imposing, but about proposing. \u00abEvangelizing today requires closeness, witness and authenticity. It is not enough to transmit ideas; we have to show the face of Christ with our lives\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-682x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Samuel Ebinu, seminarista ugand\u00e9s formaci\u00f3n sacerdote\" class=\"wp-image-227923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-768x1153.jpg 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-1023x1536.jpg 1023w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012-8x12.jpg 8w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260123-WA0012.jpg 1066w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Concrete keys to the priest you dream of being:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Listen before you speak.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accompany processes with patience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To bear witness to a coherent and joyful life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To create spaces of encounter and mercy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use language that connects to real life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abEvangelization is not to impose, but to propose with love and conviction\u00bb. Samuel dreams of a profoundly human and profoundly God's priesthood. A priest who is close, available, well trained, merciful and missionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00abThe <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdote-leton-renar-birkovs\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdote-leton-renar-birkovs\/\">priest of the 21st century<\/a> must unite tradition and creativity, fidelity and openness, prayer and service,\u00bb he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"Seminaristas atienden en clase de Teolog\u00eda en las Facultades Eclesi\u00e1sticas de la Universidad de Navarra\" class=\"wp-image-227803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/estudiantes-facultades-eclesiasticas.webp 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Seminarians attend Theology classes in the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"una-historia-que-interpela\"><strong>Challenging stories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel Ebinu's story is that of a young Ugandan boy preparing for the <strong>to be a priest<\/strong>; It is an invitation to ask ourselves how we care for vocations and how we support, even from afar, those who respond to God's call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same is true for the <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/seminarista-de-uganda-y-la-formacion-espiritual\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/seminarista-de-uganda-y-la-formacion-espiritual\/\">Gerald Emanuel's story<\/a>, another Ugandan seminarian who resides with him in Bidasoa and with whom he shares studies in Pamplona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GERALD EMANUEL, FROM UGANDA \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddec TO PAMPLONA TO BECOME A PRIEST \u271d\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EArQ_f0duMQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From Uganda to Pamplona, the seed has already germinated. Now, it needs to be nurtured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Marta Sant\u00edn, journalist specialized in Religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#de-soroti-a-pamplona-el-camino-de-un-seminarista-ugandes\">From Soroti to Pamplona: the path of a Ugandan seminarian<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#una-fe-aprendida-en-casa\">The Christian family, cradle of vocations<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#soroti-una-iglesia-joven-y-viva-en-uganda\">Soroti: a young and lively Church in Uganda<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#evangelizar-desde-la-familia-y-la-comunidad\">Evangelizing from the family and the community<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#evangelizar-hoy-testimonio-y-cercania\">Evangelizing today: witness and closeness<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From living in eastern Uganda and ending up in Pamplona, Samuel Ebinu's story shows that the vocation to become a priest always grows in the environment of a believing and mature family with the support of his diocese.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":227800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[190,121,182,349],"class_list":["post-227795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-historias","tag-pamplona","tag-seminarista","tag-testimonio","tag-uganda"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227795"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227940,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227795\/revisions\/227940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}