Lucas Gordia Andrade has wanted to be a priest since he was very little. As a child, he played at celebrating Mass, making processions and, at the age of 13, he built a church on the family land to say his personal and community prayers.
Today, at 17 years old, Andrade is a seminarian in the Diocese of União da Vitóriain the Brazilian state of Paraná.
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The young man told ACI Digital—EWTN News’ Portuguese agency—that he has a “love for the sacraments that really burns in the heart, really,” and that he experiences it in his daily life. “I know I’m still young, but my heart burns and we have to really throw ourselves in” and respond “to the invitation that God makes, which is a personal life choice.”
This love of God and sacred things began at home, in the family that always gathered for Mass, making novenas and prayers, which caused the desire to build a church to arise in his heart at the age of six.
Lucas said that since it was an early desire, his parents “waited for the idea to mature more, because it is not overnight that a chapel is built.”
When he was 13 years old, they began the construction of the church on the family land in São João do Triunfo, in Campos Gerais, Paraná. “I was inspired by a style of old churches,” he shared, and assured that he collaborated “in the construction, I helped some things, I got my hands dirty.”
The chapel is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of the Conception, devotions rooted in family life. “There were two titles that came with the idea of the chapel, having them as patron saints. And the Diocese of União da Vitória is also dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so that was another inspiration,” he said.
The church is about eight meters high, five meters long and 2.5 meters wide. It is a private family oratory, but open to the rural community of Faxinal dos Ferreiras, who go there to pray novenas and prayers. The first Mass was celebrated last October by the parish vicar and was attended by the community.
For Lucas, the support of his parents and the faith lived as a family were fundamental both for the construction of the chapel and for his entry into the Queen of the Missions diocesan seminaryin early 2024.
“God makes us an invitation and it is a personal choice of life, of giving, but if you asked me if it was worth it? I would say with all firmness and certainty: it is worth it,” Andrade said. “From leaving home to living day to day here in the seminary, it is worth it. Fear surrounds us, insecurity for choosing to give our whole life, but it is worth it and God is always with us lifting us up, Our Lady always helping and if today they asked me if I would do this delivery again, I would deliver it again here at the seminar.”
The Diocese of União da Vitória has about 250,000 inhabitants, 25 parishes and 13 municipalities. Currently, there are 14 seminarians.
According to the rector, Father Marcelo Antonio Rosa, the most important thing for a young man who wants to be a priest is “to have a very great love for the cause, a faith that grows as it grows in the heart of Lucas.”
“He started little by little, like a little child in the family and this feeling took root in his heart,” the rector told ACI Digital. “When I hear him speak, when I speak to him I see the truth, I see the true speech. There is heart in this speech. There is love for God in this speech.”
“A young man who wants to dedicate himself to God does not need to be extraordinary, he does not need to be anything outside of what we know about humanity, he only needs to want to serve God and love him. To love like this with all respect, with all love and with all the love and he will be a great priest”.
“I wish from the bottom of my heart that young people are not afraid, because they can serve God and do a lot of good for many people. Lucas has been with us for six months and has already done very well, he is reaching many people,” he concluded. the priest.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Digital.
Nathália Queiroz
Nathália Queiroz de Carvalho Lima is certified in Spanish by the Cervantes Institute and has worked as a translator for seven years at ACI Digital. She has experience writing religious content for Catholic media in Portuguese and Spanish.