Carlos Ernesto Martínez was born 24 years ago in Santa Ana, El Salvador. Since he was a child he had felt the desire to become a priest and at the age of 16 he entered the minor seminar : "I entered with a very close cousin to make the experience. At that time, I was still not very convinced of my vocation, but my cousin supported me in the moments when my steps towards the priesthood were faltering". Emotionally, he assures that, years later, the person who helped him on his path continues to do so, but in a different way: "His mission statement was to guide me so that I would listen to the voice of the one who was calling me. I have no doubt that he continues to do so now from wherever he is - and I am sure he is in the best place. The Lord had another plan for him, and although losing a loved one is very difficult to accept, he has brought out greater good." Another of the determining reasons for beginning his path to the priesthood was a question he asked himself in front of the tabernacle. How much need there is for God, how many people there are to attend to and how few priests there are... "That was what prompted me to embrace my vocation with a greater desire and conviction," he explains.

Born into a Catholic family, where God had always been very present, he entered the seminar major when he turned 18. In 2014, his President, who had been formed at the University of Navarra, encouraged him to come to Spain, where he is currently studying 5th year of high school diploma in Theology. "I feel privileged to be able to study here. We have many means of training which, for different circumstances, are not always accessible in the seminaries of our countries: specialized libraries, international symposiums, courses of update... In addition, we have access to many authors of the books we study and we can easily go to them. This is an advantage that prepares us financial aid to be able to respond to situations that we will face as priests".

Since he arrived in Pamplona, Carlos has been living at seminar Bidasoa International where, as he says, he has learned to love the Church more: "I have had the opportunity to know it better, not only through the subject of Ecclesiology that we studied at the University, but also through the testimony of many companions who tell the story of the Church in their places of origin status ; a Church that suffers". He assures that his time in Bidasoa has been "unique and unforgettable, something that will forever mark my life and my ministry", because he has been surrounded by people who have helped him on this path to the priesthood. "I will always carry with me the good experiences I have had with my companions. Being from different cultures, they all have a heart conquered by the same person: Jesus. I also take with me a special memory of my formators who, more than that, have been true fathers to me. I say this from the bottom of my heart.

This year, when he finishes his time at training at the University of Navarra, he will return to El Salvador to place himself at the disposal of his bishop: "I would love to be able to exercise the priesthood in my country and serve the people with whom I have begun the exciting adventure of my vocation". In addition to feeling grateful for those who have been part of his training and his life, in a disinterested way, Carlos can not fail to remember those who have helped him financially: "This experience would not have been possible without the financial aid of so many people who have contributed to my training, with the expenses of the scholarship. I am deeply grateful to everyone. I would like to tell them that the fruit of their financial efforts is of immeasurable value. The priest is the dispenser of the saving mysteries of Jesus Christ, the certainty that God walks among us, because he makes Christ present on earth. His promise that he would accompany us every day, until the end of the world, is realized in a special way in the Holy Eucharist, and without the priesthood there is no Eucharist.