{"id":230343,"date":"2026-07-01T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?p=230343"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:02:01","slug":"amor-de-dios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/amor-de-dios\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Felipe: \u00abThe priestly ministry has allowed me to discover the greatness of God\u2019s love\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luis Felipe was born in Manizales and grew up in the municipality of Neira, in the department of Caldas, where he spent his childhood and youth and experienced God\u2019s love. He comes from a simple, hardworking family. His mother owned a beauty salon in the town, while his father has dedicated his life to farming, particularly coffee cultivation, one of the region\u2019s most characteristic industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has a younger brother who currently works in a factory in the city of Manizales and who, at the same time, has chosen to carry on the family tradition of coffee cultivation and production, which the priest himself refers to as \u00abone of the most representative activities of our region.\u00bb.<\/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=\"LUIS FELIPE CASTRO BETANCURT HORIZONTAL\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RmaSRSSePTM?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 id=\"la-llamada-al-ministerio-sacerdotal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Call to the Priesthood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a very young age, this Colombian priest felt God\u2019s call to the priesthood. For this reason, during his childhood and adolescence, he actively participated in the life of his parish as an altar boy and altar server. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those years were decisive for the emergence and development of his vocation. At the age of sixteen, he entered the major seminary in Manizales, where he underwent nine years of formation\u2014described as \u00abyears of study, of human and spiritual growth, of community life, and of vocational discernment\u00bb\u2014which he recalls with gratitude toward God and toward those who accompanied him throughout that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-230347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles.webp 1000w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles-300x133.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles-150x67.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles-768x341.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/luis_felipe_fieles-18x8.webp 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"el-sacerdocio-y-el-servicio-pastoral-un-reto-y-una-vocacion-incluso-durante-la-pandemia\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Priesthood and Pastoral Ministry: A Challenge and a Vocation Even During the Pandemic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was ordained a deacon on July 9, 2018, and was ordained <a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/que-es-un-sacerdote\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/sacerdocio\/que-es-un-sacerdote\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">priest<\/a> November 30, 2019. Since then, he has served in various parish communities, which have deeply enriched his ministry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His pastoral ministry began as a deacon at the Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Merced parish in the municipality of La Merced, Caldas. Later, during his first year as a priest, amid the challenges of the pandemic, he served the community at San Jorge Parish in the city of Manizales, a period that marked the beginning of his priestly ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"748\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-230349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio.webp 1000w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio-300x224.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio-150x112.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio-768x574.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fronteras-ministerio-16x12.webp 16w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Missionary on the country's borders<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manizales sent him as a missionary to the Archdiocese of Florencia, in southern Colombia, a region near the borders with Peru and Ecuador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This missionary experience had a profound impact on his life as a priest. During his first few months, he served at the parish of the Florence Cathedral, and was later assigned to the parish of Our Lady of Ar\u00e1nzazu, in the municipality of San Jos\u00e9 del Fragua, where he remained for nearly two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A highlight of that period was getting to know \u00aban extraordinarily beautiful region, characterized by its crystal-clear rivers, its lush vegetation, and the warmth of its people.\u00bb After this mission, he returned to his home archdiocese, where he served as assistant pastor at the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Manizales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-230348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia.webp 1000w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/parroquia_colombia-16x12.webp 16w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"el-estudio-en-roma-descubrir-la-catolicidad-de-la-iglesia\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Study in Rome: Discovering the \u201cCatholicity\u201d of the Church<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a year of pastoral work, the Archbishop of Manizales sent him to Rome to continue his academic training. He has been living in the city for two years, where he is pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in dogmatic theology at the <a href=\"https:\/\/es.pusc.it\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/es.pusc.it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pontifical University of the Holy Cross<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This stage has provided an opportunity to deepen his faith, strengthen his intellectual formation, and understand the pastoral and cultural challenges facing the contemporary Church. Luis Felipe says he has discovered \u00abthe greatness of God\u2019s love, which\u2014without any merit on our part\u2014calls us to be witnesses to his mercy and his presence among humanity,\u00bb as well as the richness of the universal Church in its diversity of cultures and realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"agradecimiento-a-la-fundacion-carf\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Acknowledgment to the CARF Foundation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The priest expresses his gratitude to his benefactors at the CARF Foundation and to all those who contribute to the formation of priests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He notes that his support helps prepare pastors who are capable of responding to the challenges of evangelization with generosity and a solid formation. He adds that, upon completing his studies in Rome, he will return to his archdiocese with the desire to put what he has learned at the service of the Church, especially in the formation of future priests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He emphasizes that this assistance \u00abis not merely a personal benefit,\u00bb but also an investment in the formation of new priests for the Church in Manizales and the universal Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gerardo Ferrara is also the r<strong>Head of Student Affairs, University of the Holy Cross in Rome.<\/strong><\/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=\"#la-llamada-al-ministerio-sacerdotal\">The Call to the Priesthood<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#el-sacerdocio-y-el-servicio-pastoral-un-reto-y-una-vocacion-incluso-durante-la-pandemia\">The Priesthood and Pastoral Ministry: A Challenge and a Vocation Even During the Pandemic<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#el-estudio-en-roma-descubrir-la-catolicidad-de-la-iglesia\">The Study in Rome: Discovering the \u201cCatholicity\u201d of the Church<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#agradecimiento-a-la-fundacion-carf\">Acknowledgment to the CARF Foundation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luis Felipe Castro Betancurt is a young priest from the Archdiocese of Manizales, Colombia.  He was born in the Eje Cafetero region, in central Colombia, on February 14, 1994, and is currently in Rome studying dogmatic theology thanks to a grant from the CARF Foundation. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":230346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[411,126,356,182],"class_list":["post-230343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-historias","tag-colombia","tag-roma","tag-teologia","tag-testimonio"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230343","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230343"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230684,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230343\/revisions\/230684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}