"My dream is to return to a parish in my country and, apart from the work proper to a priest, I would like to support vocations very much."

"When I was told that the bishop wanted to talk to me I was a little worried: it was to ask me if I wanted to come to Pamplona and I told him that if there was the opportunity, I was willing. I did so freely and obediently". This is how Timothy Katende, 28 years old, began his Spanish adventure becoming the first member of his diocese to come to Spain to train in Theology, since it is usual for them to travel to Italy or the United States. Since he arrived in July 2017 to learn Spanish he has been living at the seminar Bidasoa International and this year he is studying the 5th year and finishing Cycle I with the Degree of Theology at the University of Navarra thanks to the CARF Foundation.

He hopes that putting what he has learned at the service of his diocese will be, he says, a way of showing gratitude both to the formators he has had and to the benefactors who allowed him to be formed in Uganda initially and now in Pamplona: "I am very grateful to all those who support me on this path".

Current uncertainty also surrounds his future ordination, but Timothy knows what he would like to do when he finishes his programs of study: "My dream is to return to a parish in my country and, apart from the work of a priest, I would like to support vocations. Especially in my case, I can hardly study, and I have seen many who have not been able to continue because of lack of resources".

Timothy's conviction in describing his present and his future can be explained by the long road he has traveled. Barely a month after his birth, he lost his mother and at the age of seven his father, which meant that he had to be separated from his brother to be raised by relatives in Maddu, in the diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana.

He grew up with his four cousins and his uncles and from an early age was already helping out in the parish as an altar boy, organizing the choir and bringing the priest's announcements to the community. "After the national exam to finish primary school, when I was 13 years old, the parish priest told me about seminar who was looking for young boys and asked me if I would like to go. Passing the entrance exam was one step, but paying for the programs of study and the material was even more difficult. The parish priest presented the status at the Sunday celebration and the neighbors came out in force to help him.

From studying Philology French to going to Pamplona

It was the beginning of a journey that he continued after completing six courses and entering the Alokolum Major Seminary ( seminar ) in Gulu: "When I finished I was offered a scholarship to study Philology French: I liked law and languages... but I already knew that I wanted to be a priest, I wanted to follow the path that God had chosen for me". And so it was that he continued his training with three years of Philosophy, another of pastoral work in a parish and another of Theology at seminar Kinyamasika. He was there when he was called to come to Pamplona.

The initial fears of entering an unknown culture and a strange language , as well as "the concern for the trust of the bishop and the responsibility to do well" were overcome by the illusion: "We met many in the same status and so we learned and helped each other. This status has made me mature," explains Timoty, who hopes to draw on his experience in the future. "It is clear to me that wherever I go I want to look for vocations by telling my testimony and explaining that the responsibility has to be of the whole parish: there are many families willing to help others and the Church needs vocations".