By Victoria Cardiel
Vatican City, Feb 1, 2025 / 07:00 am
Pope Francis recently had a candid discussion with seminarians and formators from the ecclesiastical province of Valencia in Spain, where he shared a personal story about his mother’s initial resistance to his decision to enter the seminary.
The bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla, took to Facebook to recount how the Holy Father engaged with the seminarians during the audience, offering insights into his own journey.
“The seminarians of the ecclesiastical province of Valencia had a unique opportunity to interact with the pope for two hours, where they could ask him questions freely, and he responded with great charm,” the bishop shared.
Munilla revealed that Pope Francis shared his experience of his mother’s opposition to his calling to the priesthood in response to a seminarian’s query about familial acceptance of their vocation.
“One of the seminarians expressed his struggles with his mother not approving of his decision to join the seminary, as she had envisioned different paths for him,” the bishop recalled.
The Pope empathetically listened to the seminarian’s concerns and then revealed that he, too, faced a similar situation in his own journey.
“Despite being Catholic, Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s mother was initially against his vocation and even hesitated to visit him at the seminary,” Munilla shared.
