At 20 years old, Ángel David, a Mexican seminarian, is aware of the gift he has received to study and train as a priest at  the University of Navarra in Pamplona. His story is one of conversion and hope, of how God can transform a family far from the faith into a home of communion with Christ.

“Seeing my parents rediscover their faith was the seed of the vocation that God placed in me, and He continues to nurture it every day,” Ángel David emphasizes.

From practical atheism to faith

Ángel David grew up in a large family: five siblings and parents who, as he himself says,  were believers, but lived a practical atheism.  “We didn’t see God in our daily lives, much less go to Mass,” he says .

Everything changed when they decided to return to the faith, receive the sacraments, and her parents were married in the Church. “Now my parents are committed to evangelization,” she says gratefully. That family transformation was also the fertile ground where her vocation took root.

The moment she felt the calling

His first serious encounter with faith was preparing for his First Communion. What began as a tradition soon became an inner calling.  “God had other plans for me,”  he says, smiling. Being an altar server allowed him to experience the liturgy firsthand, and in the silence of Mass, he understood that his life didn’t belong to him alone.

“The special moment was during a  Holy Mass,” he recalls.  “The priest had about fifty people to hear confessions, and I thought it was impossible for him to reach them all . I wondered if one day I could be the one to offer God’s forgiveness… and at that moment, He planted the seed of my vocation,” he says serenely.

Tabasco, land of faith that confronts secularism

His home diocese, Tabasco, located in southeastern Mexico, is a warm land not only because of its climate, but also because of the faith of its people. With around one and a half million inhabitants, 64% identify as Catholic.  It has 250 priests and 120 parishes.

However, like many other regions, it faces growing challenges. “The greatest challenge is secularism and materialism among young people,” explains Ángel David. “This materialism leads to a lack of commitment to the Church. Furthermore, the rise of various religions and sects has caused Catholicism to decline somewhat.”

Devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe

Despite increasing secularization, Tabasco is a vibrant diocese, marked by the joy and hospitality of its people. Its rural communities preserve deeply Christian traditions, even as modernity and globalization have brought religious indifference.

Even so,  popular devotion, especially to Our Lady of Guadalupe, remains a source of hope. “In Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe is seen as a loving mother who always watches over us and intercedes with God for us,” says the young seminarian. “On December 12, the feast day of our patron saint, even people of other religions or atheists come to pray the rosary before her. It sounds like a joke, but it’s true,” he says with emotion.

A fact that surprised him about Spain

Upon arriving in Spain, he thought it too was a country with great Marian devotion. He wasn’t wrong, although, on the other hand, some things surprised him. “I was very surprised to see, for example, that one day, at a Holy Mass, there were only three people,” he confesses.

However, he has been struck by the fact that the few young people and teenagers in Spain who participate in Sunday Mass are very committed to their faith.

Evangelizing in today’s society

When asked how to evangelize today, his answer is clear: “It’s not about showing a God of justice or punishment, but the true Merciful Father, full of love, who always forgives us and seeks us out.”

His words resonate with the pastoral closeness he envisions for  priests  of the 21st century: “The priest of this time must be healthy, wise, and holy. Knowing how to live in the world, but not of it. And he must also learn to use social media as a bridge for evangelization, although with care so as not to isolate himself or fall into misinformation.”

Ángel David Álvarez Ramírez, a young man from Tabasco who is in his third year of high school studying Theology and who, from the heart of Navarra, is preparing to return to his homeland one day as a priest.