PRIESTS What kinds of ministry do you like most? I like teaching. Also, I like to listen to people, especially those who are suffering.
Growing up, did you think you might become a religious priest? I dreamt of helping people. I always felt compassion for the elderly and sick, so I studied nursing and was thinking of becoming a doctor. But then I felt the call to religious life when I read the biography of Saint Dominic.
Your favorite food? Mole, of course!
What first drew you to religious life? The community life. Coming from a large extended family, I like knowing that there is always someone to help you and look out for you.
Best ministry experiences to date? Listening to the testimony of young immigrants from Central America. I saw how important it is for me to be part of religious life in order to be with those who suffer.
Finding a call across the miles
What do you do for fun?
JOSÉ VELÁZQUEZ, O.S.C.
I like to paint with oils, and I enjoy walks in the woods.
Several years ago, college student José Velázquez’s curiosity about religious life overcame major barriers of distance. A native of Mexico studying in the Guadalajara region, Velázquez met some Indonesian priests who were Crosiers. Impressed, he wrote to the congregation’s office in Rome, striking up a correspondence with a Crosier priest. Eventually, he got to know Crosiers in Arizona and sensed God was calling him to join them. Today, he is a Crosier seminarian.
What gives you hope about religious life? That we can show the world an alternative way of life—a life that helps you be more human.
GARY FELDHEGE
VocationNetwork.org | VISION 2016 | 75
