The Father Arturo has just celebrated 25 years of priesthood. He was ordained by John Paul II on January 3, 1991, in St. Peter’s Basilica, along with 59 other companions, including Fathers Mario López and Alfredo Herrero, who are also currently living in Spain. Father Arturo is the chaplain of the Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila, the same place where Saint Teresa entered nearly 500 years ago. Recently, Father Arturo explained to the Regnum Christi news portal in Spain that he remembers the day of his ordination as “a dream come true” and shared some unique moments from his priestly life, such as the baptism he performed for a young Buddhist suffering from AIDS on his deathbed.

What do you remember from that January 3, 1991?

I feel that one lives in a kind of cloud from which one never descends. It was a dream—the news that Pope John Paul II was going to ordain us priests. A dream that became reality when we all saw each other in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was something extraordinary, even in the history of the Church, because never before has a Pope ordained 60 priests from the same congregation at once.

Father, was that the beginning or the end of something in your life?

It was like climbing to a summit where, when you reach the top, you can see everything you’ve left behind—rivers, landscapes… but you realize that after this summit, there are more peaks. It is both an end and a beginning. There are other peaks that, now, after 25 years, I realize I had to climb and leave behind.

What moment do you remember as special in your priestly life?

I would describe these 25 years of priesthood as full of enthusiasm. An initial enthusiasm, which is easy to live, that has lasted over time, and in which I have experienced moments ranging from the fullness of joy to sadness. And in those moments, there are people, experiences…

I would highlight the places where I have lived my priesthood, from the Guarani jungle to Patagonia, passing through the high Andes, Antarctica, the Castilian land, the Judean deserts… These are landscapes that encompass experiences and people, such as those living in some remote villages, waiting for the ‘little priest,’ people of other religions who do not know or despise our faith, indifferent young people in the West, or people waiting with open arms for you to enter their homes.

I remember once celebrating Mass for the Guarani Indians. However, none of them could receive communion because they were not baptized… You wonder: “What am I doing celebrating Mass if none can receive…?”. At those moments, apostolic zeal takes over…

There’s another moment that moved me deeply: I had to attend to a young Buddhist with AIDS at the very end of his life. A friend of his asked me to go and attend him, but I couldn’t give him the anointing of the sick because he was not Catholic. So, at that last moment of his life, I asked him: “Do you want to be baptized?”. And he replied yes… At that moment, I baptized him and gave him the anointing of the sick. The next day, he died. In those moments, you understand that you have brought a soul to God.

Not all Legionary fathers have had the opportunity to work in so many different places as missionaries. Others always live in more urban areas…

All Legionaries are missionaries, at least in their hearts. But it is indeed a grace from God. I was attracted to the Legion because of the mission it involved, and I come from a missionary family background—whether because of the influence of missionaries passing through our home, or the military spirit of my family… and yes, I have been assigned to borderlands, trenches, and missions.

And speaking of your Legionary life: if you had to choose again, would you choose to be a priest and a Legionary priest of Christ?

It’s very beautiful. I would choose the same again. God reveals many things to you that perhaps at first you weren’t aware of, but then you see how wonderful was the plan behind it, even if you didn’t understand it at first, you questioned it, it was difficult… So, if you ask me, I tell you I would choose the same again.

Has the Legion of Christ changed much since you entered the novitiate in Salamanca in 1980 until now?

Heraclitus says that you never step into the same water twice. And this is something that happens to all of us—whether in our married life, in our own country, in our town… the passing of years makes things different. The Legion is no exception to this flow of change, and from 1980 to 2016, many things have happened, and these bring about changes.

What would you say to a young person feeling vocational doubts?

That they feel that God has called them. It is very important to know that God has called you, that it is not the result of a circumstance or a moment… You must know that there was a moment when God called you. How, in what way…? That’s the marvelous thing about God… That God can call you in a spiritual retreat, at a Youth Day, through the death of a loved one, in reading a book, or during a visit to the Blessed Sacrament… it’s a love story in which God has manifested Himself in many ways.

Source: Lo+RC