“Being in the seminary has been a good and positive experience for me. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m glad to be here. I’m much more organized in my life, especially in prayer.”

My name is Pablo Santa María Watson, I was born in Mexico City on October 2nd, 1984. My parents are Pablo and María. My family has been living in Vancouver since August 21st, 2001. Besides living in Canada I have also lived in Mexico, Guatemala and Argentina. Last school year, I graduated from high school at Vancouver College.

During my whole life I have been very close to the Church. I was born and raised a Catholic. From my grandmother's devotion to the sacraments, I learned to have a devotion to the Mass and Sacraments. When I was very young I would play "priest" and say "a mass" in a small table in the dining room.

My first chance of seeing Pope John Paul II in 1999 when he visited Mexico for his fourth time, was the first time I seriously considered a priestly vocation. It would not be until I came to Canada that I did something about it. First, I went to World Youth Day in Toronto on July 2002, where the experience of so many youths gathered to praise God moved me to talk with a priest. Fortunately, I went with Holy Name Parish group led by Fr. Mark Schwab to World Youth Day. During that time Fr. Schwab was the vocation director of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Then I had the opportunity to assist in the canonization of St. José Maria Escriva de Balaguer in Rome on October 2002. The trip to Rome was a great vocational and spiritual experience for me; the opportunity of being at the center of Western Christianity and being in the same city where the Vicar of Christ lives.

As soon as I returned to Vancouver I went to speak with Msgr. Gregory Smith who took me to a Vocation in Progress meeting where I met Fr. James Hughes and Fr. Hien Nguyen, the Vocation Directors. I went to several of the meetings and to the retreat in March. Finally in April I applied to the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Prayer has been a central role in my discernment for going to the seminary. If it were not for prayer and the devotion to the Mass and to the Rosary, I would not be in the seminary today. Also the support given by my family and friends has been very important to me.
Now I am a seminarian at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission B.C. and I am discerning what God wants from me, because only in doing what God has planned for us can we find true happiness!

 

 

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