The priesthood, the vocation and the desire to make a difference in the lives of others

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There have been no ordinations of priests in the Diocese of Viseu for seven years. The paradigm seems to be changing little by little and soon Alexandre Ribeiro and Eduardo Abrantes will become priests. About a year after ordination, we went to find out what moves them on this path of faith. Is it a vocation? Is it a calling?

Photographer: Diocese of Viseu

The Diocese of Viseu currently has 100 priests, 75 diocesan parish priests are active. All parishes have parish priests and there is no immediate shortage, but the average age is around 66/67 years. In the Diocese, there have been no ordinations of priests for seven years, a reality that will soon change, because Alexandre Ribeiro and Eduardo Abrantes are about to become priests and four others are attending the seminary. Alexandre Ribeiro and Eduardo Abrantes are undergoing internships in parishes in the region and say that from a young age they knew that the path was the priesthood. They do not hide that the journey was not always easy and that doubts are part of the process. On this journey, which began when they were still children and accompanied their parents to mass and which will end in about a year, weaknesses became strengths, doubts became certainties, always with the great objective of being able to make a difference in the lives of others. But what led them to follow the path of Jesus? What led you to change the paradigm of the absence of young people in the life of the priesthood? Is it a vocation? Is it a calling? “Over time we realize that this is the path, we discard options and others remain, the ones that really matter to us”, says Alexandre Ribeiro, 28 years old. Born in Destriz, a small parish in the municipality of Oliveira de Frades, the future parish priest says that as a child he always attended mass, participated in catechesis and was the figure of the parish priest at the time, the catechists and the teachers of the subject of Religion and Morals who They served as a reference so that, years later, he chose to enter the seminary, after completing his 12th year in Oliveira de Frades. “There was a fascination with the Sunday meeting. I lived in a village where I was the only boy and, besides school, mass was the time when I saw people my age,” he recalls. Alexandre also says that trips to Taizé, in Franca, also played an important role in the decision. At the age of 17/18, Taizé “triggered this interest in the spiritual dimension”. Eduardo also shares this certainty: Taizé made a difference. “The great awakening to the vocation was in 2014. There were several things. First I took the trip to Taizé, then I confirmed and decided to take a chance,” he says. But it was also the influence of the parents, “who always participated a lot in the Church’s initiatives”, that left the “seed”. In fact, Eduardo says that, according to his mother, it was in the church that he started walking, taking his first steps. And, like Alexandre, Eduardo, 25 years old, says that it was the priest of the parish where he is from, Cunha Baixa, in the municipality of Mangualde, who “awakened the vocation”. “A priest was there for 46 years and then a younger one came in, with other ideas and the whole parish flourished. I was struck by the joy he showed, both when celebrating Mass and outside the celebrations. I would have been 11 years old at the time. From then on I started helping at mass, as an acolyte. Then I participated in a pre-seminar meeting, in 2009, for three or four days. And, since then, I started participating in these meetings whenever I could,” he says. Certain that this was his path, Eduardo moved from Mangualde to Viseu where he finished secondary school at Escola Emídio Navarro. “I did two years at the Viseu Minor Seminary, I finished secondary school and then I decided to return to Taizé and here I decided to do something different, do a week in silence and that week I had biblical reflections and I always had the Bible and at that moment I decided who wanted to go to the Major Seminary.” Alexandre and Eduardo ended up entering the Major Seminary of Braga, to attend the Faculty of Theology. In the first year, they say, the course was more linked to health, in the second year they volunteered, in the third and fourth years they were more linked to catechesis and became part of parishes in the city of Braga, where they had greater contact with the population and groups of children and young people. The fifth and sixth years were spent developing work outside the city of Braga. Currently, Alexandre is doing an internship in the parish of Rio de Loba and Eduardo is in nine parishes, where he accompanies two priests, in the municipality of Vale de Cambra (Aveiro), in Oliveira de Frades and São Pedro do Sul. And when we ask when the true calling and vocation, both state that it happens every day and that people contribute a lot to this. “The call? Nobody hears voices, that would be psychiatric. We feel that we can help others, not so much in physical terms, but from a more spiritual perspective and then yes, priests can make a great contribution. Sometimes to unblock situations or simply to vent”, they say.

The certainty of a path that was not always easy
Despite knowing from an early age the path they wanted to take, Alexandre and Eduardo admit that it was not always easy, especially due to the new reality and the unknown. Still, they say, “this is also part of the journey”. “When I went to the seminary I had no idea what it would be like, I didn’t know anyone. The seminary journey itself is demanding and allows us to understand whether or not this is what we want. It’s not an easy path, through the unknown, it’s all new. In the first years it is complicated, we only see the house when it is stipulated. There was some difficulty in adapting, because until then I had spent, at most, a week away from my parents.

According to the future parish priest, despite the difficulties, he never had “that feeling that I no longer wanted to be a priest”, but, he maintains, “during my journey I thought a few times that this was not what I imagined. However, we always end up focusing on what really calls us and makes us on that path, of following Jesus. And if we are going to give up when things don’t go the way we imagined, we would give up many times in life and life would stop being attractive,” he says. Eduardo, when asked if there were moments when he thought about giving up, admits that yes, there were, “and even several times”. “There is something in the Church called discernment, not in deciding between good and evil because that is common sense, but in choosing between two good things and then understanding which one makes us better. Doubt is always part of the process and in moments of greater fragility these doubts may arise, but it is always something momentary”, he emphasizes. Eduardo also takes the opportunity to leave a message to all young people who may now be wanting to follow in the same footsteps. “The message I can give you is not to be afraid. In life we ​​are not always right, but we should not be afraid to take risks. If they feel that the path could involve the priesthood, they should take the risk. Going to the seminary doesn’t mean you’re going to be a priest, participating in a pre-seminary meeting doesn’t mean you’re going to be a priest, it just helps you understand if you’re on the right path,” he says. And when we ask them which priests they would like to be, they are unanimous: priests who are close to people and add value. “The parishes make the priest and the priest makes the parishes. Realities are not all the same, needs are not all the same. But we cannot arrive and think that we are the ones in charge and we are the ones who know. When this happens it is very bad, because we are throwing away the work of previous people, saying that what they did was worthless and that we are the saviors of the country. And this is not correct, because the parishes, the communities continue after we pass. The priest has to be an aggregator and I think the secret is here: people working together and everyone feeling part of the community”, they say.

The Church, criticism and judgments
At a time when the Church is under the spotlight, subject to criticism and judgement, future priests believe that this is an institution that is constantly evolving and has adapted to the times. They know that criticism exists and that you need to know how to listen to it. “The fact that we live in a community means that we are used to hearing criticism. But over the years we also evolve and criticism makes us think and reflect. We can give up or continue our journey. But, we try to be involved with people and in the world there is less and less patience to listen. Almost every sector is in crisis, there is nothing where it can be said that there is not a scandal. The Church is made up of people and the important thing is that we have a sieve. We cannot ignore it, but we can sort what is said, what we can retain and what we can do differently”, says Alexandre. Eduardo emphasizes that he deals with criticism “calmly”, even when it comes to sexual abuse. “Throughout history, the Church has been attacked and maintained. Of course, sometimes cleaning and renovation are necessary. As for this issue of abuse, it doesn’t just happen in the church. But the Church had the courage to come clean about what happened, it did not hide. Of course, one can debate whether it was due to pressure from society, or whether it was on their own initiative, but we are dealing with the situation, with the consequences, and whoever has the responsibility to make decisions is doing so. The Church is made by men, but it is divine. We are sure that the Holy Spirit helps to maintain it. There was a teacher who said: when you close a door, the Holy Spirit opens a window,” he says.

Young people and the Church
As for the connection between young people and the Church, both Alexandre and Eduardo believe that it has to be work from both sides. “Young people are looking for answers and often don’t know where to look. And if in the church we do not provide proposals and challenges for our journey, we cannot want young people to look at the Church as a path or an option. And then there is the other side, society currently lives day to day, without great responsibility, but the Church wants responsibility and commitment, that we are responsible Christians and committed to the community and the good of others. If we live in a society that is the opposite, with egocentrism and individualism, the Church is seen as something that will go against the tide”, says Alexandre. Both believe that World Youth Day, which took place in Portugal almost a year ago, could help change the paradigm of young people’s “detachment” from the Church. “The Journey showed that young people are connected to the church and this was noticed. For me, that vigil where there were a million and a half people, mostly young people, was impressive. We cannot say that the Journey is the solution for everything, but it was a sign of hope and an excellent opportunity to reawaken the attention of young people”, highlights Eduardo.