Priestly Formation

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All seminarians are prepared for the priesthood following the four essential pillars of priestly formation, namely human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral, and, before being ordained priests of the Archdiocese of Boston, they spend three years in missionary formation.

MEET OUR SEMINARIANS

Click on one the pictures below for more information

Alejandro

Rev. Mr. Diego Alejandro Pena

Origin: Zipaquirá, Colombia

Year of Study: IV Theology

Local Parish: Saint Patrick's Parish, Brockton

Small Blurb: I am from a small town in Colombia, and I am the second of three children. Reaching the end of High School, I was confronted with the question, what next? What am I going to do? Everything was so uncertain. On top of it all, I had a rocky relationship with my father. However, God did not abandon me. A missionary priest, together with a couple from the Neocatechumenal way, helped give me some direction. They helped me discover my father’s love for me, and God’s love for me as a father.

It was through them that I initially heard God’s call to the priesthood. I started to discern the vocation in Bogota and now continue my journey here in Boston.

Javier

Rev. Mr. Javier Padilla

Origin: West Haven, Connecticut

Year of Study: IV Theology

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Marlborough

Small Blurb: I am the first of six children, born to Mexican parents. I have played the clarinet since I was a child and, after High School, desired to pursue a career in music. However, there was a God-sized hole in my life. The Summer before my senior year I went to my first World Youth Day in Poland. It was there that I saw that I was living very superficially, brushing God off to the side. In Poland, however, I realized that God had not brushed me off to the side, and I decided to consider the vocation to the priesthood and was sent to Boston, where I still have many opportunities to play my clarinet.

Gustavo

Gustavo Neitzke

Origin: Campo Mourão, Brazil

Year of Study: III Itinerancy (Samoa Islands)

Local Parish: Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston

Small Blurb: Growing up as the fourth of five children in a Catholic family, the image of the priest was always present in my life. Over the years I met many holy priests whom I admired. At World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, I experienced the call to the priesthood in a way stronger than ever. The words from the gospel of Mathew, “Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of man,” gave me the push to follow this call. However, after three years in the seminary, I left formation. During the two years I spent back home, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. The dedication that the priests showed to her and my family up until her passing was a consolation that led me to reconsider my vocation and enter back into the seminary.

Aaron

Aaron Sanz

Origin: Bogota, New Jersey

Year of Study: III Itinerancy (Florida)

Local Parish: Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston

Small Blurb: I am the second of eleven siblings. My family was always involved in our home parish, which allowed me to draw close to my pastor. The love he had for his ministry really left an impression on me. Growing up I dedicated much of time to my hobbies, especially music. I hoped that after High School I would be able to have a career in music composition, but it seemed that God had different plans for me. When I attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, my older brother and I both felt that we were being called to the priesthood. My brother eventually entered the seminary in Philadelphia, while I instead tried to run from the call. However, God was so persistent, that I finally decided to join the seminary as well.

Edward

Edward Rodriguez

Origin: Houston, Texas

Year of Study: II Itinerancy (Florida)

Local Parish: Saint Rosa of Lima's Parish, Chelsea

Small Blurb: Of three siblings I am the oldest and the only boy. My parents are from Mexico and raised us in the Catholic faith. Thanks to the charism of the Neocatechumenal Way, I have been able to understand the faith more in-depth. During my time in college, I felt the calling to the priesthood, and the goals that I was slowly establishing for myself did not make me happy. Seeing my parents go to church and pray pushed me to take my faith more seriously. Also, I remember how I looked up to a priest from the Neocatechumenal Way; seeing how he related to people always struck me. His example and the help of my Catechists eventually opened me up to the call to the priesthood and the possibility of going to the seminary.

Michael

Michael Castellon

Origin: Chinandega, Nicaragua

Year of Study: II Itinerancy (Los Angeles, CA)

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Marlborough

Small Blurb: As the fourth of seven children, and at a very young age, I was faced with the premature death of my mother. However, God did not abandon me. He prepared another woman to be my mother who not only took care of me, but most importantly, raised me and my siblings in the faith. She used to say that God has a plan for each person, but that the voice of God is not always easily heard. Nonetheless, inspired by my mother's faith, I decided to leave my studies, family, comfort, and start on the path to the priesthood. The time of the seminary has been a period of grace where I have discovered that, despite my weaknesses, I am loved and accepted just as I am.

Gerson

Gerson Garcia

Origin: Los Angeles, California

Year of Study: I Itinerancy (Denver)

Local Parish: Saint Rose of Lima's Parish, Chelsea

Small Blurb: I am the second of three siblings born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Although I grew up in a Catholic family attending Mass every Sunday, I felt that I did not know who God was in my life and he was never in my thoughts. I first heard the Lord to the priesthood while attending World Youth Day in 2016. However, my mind at the time was in weightlifting and on becoming a soccer player. As I resisted the call of the Lord, God allowed me to glimpse at life without him and I entered in a big crisis about the meaning of my life. During this time, my Neocatechumenal community played a pivotal role in helping me keep my ears open to the Word of God and I saw the tenderness of the Lord paving a way to help me rediscover him through an experience of true peace, the forgiveness of my sins and an even stronger call from God. Today I am happy the Lord gave me the grace to abandon my worthless projects and to have “chosen the better part” discerning my vocation.

Rafael

Rafael Milla

Origin: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Year of Study: I Itinerancy (Domus Galilae)

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Marlborough

Small Blurb: I was born in Lima, Peru, but at the age of 11,

I moved with my family to Belen, New Mexico. When I was 2 years old, my father died from brain cancer. Although my family was in the Church, in my heart I grew resentful towards God for taking my father away. Growing up, I felt his absence and I sought to fill that void by wanting to be successful. Through school, I got a degree of Master of Architecture, and through the Neocatechumenal Way, I realized that, even though I had lost my father at a young age, God had never lost sight of me and was always present in my life. I got a glimpse of true happiness when out of gratitude to God for his kindness to me, I abandoned my dream of a successful career as an architect to enter the seminary in Boston.

Luca Azzani

Origin: Martinsburg, West Virginia

Year of Study: III Theology

Local Parish: St. Mary of the Assumption, Lawrence

Small Blurb: I am the second of five children. I felt the call to the priesthood for the first time when I was 13 years old. I was very young then, so I didn't do anything about it. God confirmed my calling in 2019 when I went to Panama for World Youth Day and, after returning from the pilgrimage, I began a discernment process at my diocese's Vocation Center. Today I am in the seminary, believing that God will clarify to me what this vocation is and how best to prepare myself for the priestly ministry.

Luca

Henry

Henry Seuffert

Origin: Ridgewood, New Jersey

Year of Study: III Theology

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Marlborough

Small Blurb: The reason I entered the seminary was a vocation to the priesthood that I discovered during my pilgrimage to Rome. Even though I felt the call, I was still very young and did not know what to do with it. Later, I received a Word from God that clearly told me to follow Him and gave me the courage to take the risk and begin my formation. What excites me about my calling is studying new topics that I had never heard of before the seminary.

Alexander

Alexander de Tirado

Origin: Miami, Florida

Year of Study: III Theology

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Marlborough

Small Blurb: I entered the seminary because, despite many experiences and various attempts at reaching happiness, I never really felt satisfied. At one point I realized that the only times when I was happy and at peace were when I trusted God. I believe that the seminary is this place where God guiding me and will show me what is his will for me.

Isaac

Isaac Velazquez

Origin: Chicago, Illinois

Year of Study: I Theology

Local Parish: St. Patrick's Parish, Brockton

Small Blurb: I was born in Chicago to Mexican parents, the third of nine children. Growing up in the Neocatechumenal Way helped me to discover the Church through my community and made me receptive to the vocation to the priesthood.

I stood up for the seminary the first time in 2015,
when I was still very young, in a pilgrimage to Philadelphia, attending the World Meeting of Families. I spent most of my teenage years discerning my vocation until I understood that what is most important is to discover God’s will and to embrace his plan for my life.

The pilgrimage to Israel in 2022 was a milestone in the history of my vocation and I am eager to see what God can
do with me now that I am in the seminary.

Stefano

Rafael Stefano Rubio

Origin: Miami, Florida

Year of Study: I Theology

Local Parish: St. Patrick's Parish, Brockton

Small Blurb:

I am the second of nine siblings, born in Virginia. In the summer of 2017, my parents were sent as a missionary family to Florida and then given a mission at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Miami.

Being a witness of the generosity of my parents and growing up close to the seminarians, I saw firsthand the life of the seminary as I helped my father with the multiple construction projects in the seminary.

The experience of going on pilgrimage to Panama, to Gettysburg, PA, and then to Jerusalem were fundamental to hear the call of the Lord in my life.

One word that particularly enlightened me in the pursuit of my vocation was the parable of the talents, “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” These words helped to see that I can have it all, if I only desire God and that God is enough!

Juan

Juan Cano

Origin: Chicago, Illinois

Year of Study: II Pre-Theology

Local Parish: St. Joseph's Parish, Lynn

Small Blurb: As the third oldest of ten siblings, I grew up surrounded by the Church and immersed in the Neocatechumenal Way, consistently hearing about God throughout my life. However, even though I never really enjoyed attending church, my parents always insisted I go. This pattern persisted. For years, I felt unengaged and often left without processing and absorbing anything. It wasn't until 2023, when I was faced with some challenges in my life, that I began to listen to the voice of God. I saw this, particularly in the way I embraced the WYD pilgrimage to Lisbon. This experience sparked a calling in me, leading to a year of discernment regarding my vocation, which ultimately led me to the seminary.

Rafa Ortiz

Rafael Ortiz, Jr.

Origin: Boston, Massachusetts

Year of Study: Propaedeutic

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Revere

Small Blurb: I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Lynn, the second of four siblings born to my Mexican Catholic parents. When I was seven, I witnessed the power of God rebuilding my parents’ marriage when they joined the Neocatechumenal Way, and this inspired me to be part of a community. In 2016, I began my journey within a community, listening to the Word of God and becoming more receptive to God's calling. Even though I had known for a while that the Lord was calling me, it was during the pilgrimage to New York that I saw the Lord confirming my vocation. I felt empowered to explore what the Lord had planned for my life. Now, I am in a period of discernment, seeking God's direction for my future.

Diego A.

Diego Arellano-Ramirez

Origin: Denver, CO

Year of Study: Propaedeutic

Local Parish: Immaculate Conception, Revere

Small Blurb: I was raised in Aurora, Colorado, as the youngest of three siblings in a Mexican family with two older sisters. Growing up as the only boy, I experienced a nurturing environment shaped by an immigrant mindset: to excel in school with the belief that hard work would lead to success. My upbringing included attending Catholic school and regularly participating in Sunday mass, mainly due to my mother’s deep faith, which compelled our family to church each week. However, during my early teenage years, my connection to the church faded. I then turned my focus to soccer, aspiring to balance my education while chasing a career in the sport. After graduating high school, I intended to move to Europe to pursue college and explore opportunities with local soccer clubs. Yet, during World Youth Day in Portugal, I discovered that true fulfillment came from God, leading me to embrace a calling to the priesthood.

Angel

Angel Velasquez

Origin: San Salvador, El Salvador

Year of Study: Propaedeutic

Local Parish: Saint Rose of Lima Parish, Chelsea

Small Blurb: I am the third of four siblings, born in El Salvador. Growing up, I believed my family didn’t love me, leading me to often place myself in risky situations. Although raised in a Catholic environment, I never felt a close bond with God. In 2014, I heard about God’s love, but it seemed unclear and distant. In 2017, I moved to the United States, believing it was my chance for happiness through money, success, respect, and worldly pleasures. Yet, the more I engaged with the world, the emptier I felt. By 2020, God allowed me to reach rock bottom; even though I had turned away from Him, He “did not abandon me to death.” In 2023, I returned to the Church, where God rekindled my experience of His love, granting me the grace to abandon my attachments and travel to Denver, CO, for a mission experience. During the 50th anniversary celebration of the Neocatechumenal Way in the United States, I once again felt the Lord confirm my call to the priesthood.