Santiago belongs to  the Diocese of El Espinal, in Colombia , and resides in the  Bidasoa International Seminary , in Pamplona, ​​where he is completing his  first year of priestly formation  and Philosophy studies at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra.

His story doesn’t stem from a personal crisis, a professional failure, or disillusionment with the world. Quite the opposite. ” I was completely content with my career,  my profession, and the life I had,” he says. And that’s precisely why his testimony carries such weight: because it shows that  a  priestly vocation  isn’t an escape,  but a free response to God’s invitation.

Everything is new to him

When his bishop—a former student of Bidasoa—raised the possibility of traveling to Pamplona for his formation, Santiago felt profound joy. “ I was very excited to be able to train in a place with a structured program , an atmosphere of intense study, and a solid spiritual life, which is so helpful for priestly vocations, and above all, for growing in holiness.”

Everything is new to him.  First year in Bidasoa. First year of seminary. First year of Philosophy. But also the beginning of a completely different life.

A brilliant career as a lawyer

Before arriving in Pamplona, ​​Santiago had built a brilliant career in the legal field. In 2020, he graduated with a law degree and subsequently completed two  minors  , one in Financial Law and the other in Business Law. For almost five years, he worked first at a bank and then at a law firm.

However, beneath that seemingly settled life, a much deeper unease continued to stir. “From a very young age, I felt  a particular yearning within me for the priesthood ,” he recalls.

During my university years and the early years of my professional career, that calling became more diffuse, perhaps overshadowed by the pace of daily life, professional goals, and personal projects. But God was still waiting.

The decisive moment came in 2023, during the Camino de Santiago . While meditating on the life of the apostle, a question pierced his heart: “If he gave his whole life for God, what am I doing?”

That question didn’t disappear. Later,  while in Seville, she had an inner experience that would definitively mark her life . “I perceived that God was inviting me to take the step and, in a way, I felt that He, fully respecting my freedom, was making me understand that this was the moment.”

A professional life dedicated to God

So she decided to approach the Church to begin a  serious discernment process.  And she found something she now interprets as providential: a welcome that confirmed what she had long felt within herself.

Far from disowning his past, Santiago looks back on his years of professional practice with gratitude.  “My professional life, which I now gratefully entrust to God, taught me so much.  It helped me structure a way of thinking, a language, and a concrete way of relating to people and to reality.”

His story also breaks another stereotype: that priestly vocations necessarily arise in contexts of heartbreak or suffering. He insists that  he didn’t abandon his legal career out of frustration . “It was simply an invitation from God that I decided to accept.”

She comes from a Catholic home  , and the root of her calling is deeply connected to her family, where faith always held a significant place. Her parents, Luis Gabriel and Luz Amparo, along with her grandparents,  instilled in her a strong Christian upbringing.  She has two older sisters and a niece, and acknowledges that in her family she learned “the value of effort, of work done well, and of upright intentions.”

Among all his childhood memories, there is one he never forgot.  “Once, when I was very little, my grandmother Georgina asked me to recite the Lord’s Prayer. I started confidently, but there came a point when I couldn’t continue because I didn’t remember it well. I felt very embarrassed and also very sad.”

Over the years, he came to understand that that seemingly simple scene left a deep mark on his soul. “I understood, even as a child,  that faith couldn’t be reduced to something superficial,  but had to be truly rooted in the heart.”  Today, that conviction sustains his entire vocation.

Colombia, a complex plurality

His view of Colombia is full of realism, but also of hope.  He speaks fondly of his diocese of El Espinal, located in the department of Tolima, a Church very close to the reality of the people and marked by enormous pastoral challenges.

It describes a  large diocese with high levels of poverty  and communication difficulties due to the poor condition of the access roads. There, secularization manifests itself not so much as religious indifference, but as  a complex spiritual pluralism.

“There is a significant presence of evangelical communities that carry out intensive pastoral work,” he explains. But there are also more informal phenomena, groups without sufficient ecclesial structure, and even practices related to  esotericism or Santería.

Added to this are Colombia’s structural problems:  violence in some regions,  the normalization of illegal activities, and growing political tension. Santiago perceives that the country is going through a period of reduced institutional stability and a lack of strategic clarity in public administration, something that directly affects the daily lives of the population.

“All of this has repercussions on social coexistence, on people’s hopes,  and on the possibility of building a more stable society.”

The role of the Church and the shortage of priests

In this context, the Catholic Church plays an essential role. “It accompanies people in their spiritual life, sustains sacramental life, and  is also present in many areas of public service.”

In many places it remains a deeply respected institution for its closeness in difficult times and for its ability to act with moderation and judgment during social crises and times when peace and calm are lost in other parts of the country.

But there is one reality that particularly worries Santiago: the shortage of priests.  “The number of priests is not enough to adequately meet all the pastoral needs.” In his diocese, there is a significant  imbalance between the number of parishes and the number of available priests.

Another point of future tension is the  average age of the clergy,  which is approaching sixty, and the number of seminarians is not yet sufficient to guarantee generational replacement.

However, far from speaking with a defeatist outlook, he speaks with a serenity, peace, and faith that inspires prayer for priestly vocations in Colombia and throughout the world. “A vocation is a gift from God, and  the Church is not sustained by statistical criteria.”

The pastoral challenge of his diocese El Espinal

The great pastoral challenge of El Espinal is immense: serving a diocese of nearly 14,000 square kilometers and  almost a million inhabitants, with numerous rural areas, all very dispersed.  All the priests seek to strengthen Christian formation and especially accompany young people and those seeking vocations.

Young people are a central focus of his reflections .  Santiago Valderrama Henao acknowledges that  evangelical and Protestant churches have grown significantly  in recent years in Colombia, even in traditionally Catholic areas where they are now a minority. He believes that part of this expansion is due to the  lack of religious formation among many believers and the Church’s difficulty in reaching all regions .

Announcing the Gospel  with closeness

But he avoids any aggressive or confrontational tone. On the contrary, he insists that the response must be closeness and the authentic proclamation of the Gospel. “ The Church renews its apostolic mission by proclaiming the Gospel with closeness.  Following the Lord’s example with the Samaritan woman: getting to know the person, understanding them, and accompanying them.”

He also laments that in some religious groups people may experience rejection or mistreatment when they leave those communities. “These situations, needless to say, do not correspond to the Christian logic of love and charity.”

For him, evangelization cannot be based solely on speeches or strategies.  It must spring from witness and personal encounter with Christ.  “It is the witness of closeness and the positive proposal of faith that allows the truth of the Gospel to mature in the heart of each person.”

And he adds a profoundly spiritual reflection, evoking Saint Augustine and his encounter with Saint Ambrose: “It is not so much a conquest made solely by one’s own initiative, but Christ himself who comes to meet the person.”

European secularization

Since arriving in Spain to study, Santiago has also closely observed the phenomenon of secularization in old Europe.

He is particularly struck by  “the low presence of children and young people in churches ,” as well as the difference in participation  between men and women in church life , with the latter being more prevalent.

However, he also highlights the fundamental role played by many  Latin American immigrants  in Spanish parishes. “In many cases, they visibly sustain the life of parish communities.”

And yet, he doesn’t succumb to pessimism. On the contrary. During experiences like the  Javieradas, the Jubilee of the Year of Mercy, or university  and church life in Navarre, he has discovered “a joyful, committed, and sincere Church.”

Holiness, the key to the 21st-century priest

When he speaks of the priest of the 21st century, his answer is clear and forceful. He doesn’t speak first of social skills, management, or technology: he speaks of holiness.  “A priest of the 21st century, just like one of the 5th, 12th, or 25th centuries,  must be, above all, a man focused on his  holiness.  That is, on being a man who is a profound friend of God.”

Perhaps therein lies the heart of his entire story. The story of a young Colombian lawyer who could have led a comfortable and successful life, but who one day allowed himself to be challenged by a simple and radical question: “What am I doing?” And who decided to answer by surrendering everything to God.