"Little by little I have been cultivating my vocation, I have realized that seminar is not a place but a time."

Just turned 16, Hernando Bello (Colombia, 1993) found a biography of John Paul II at home. He had always been a great reader and thanks to this hobby God opened his eyes. It was summer and he says that, although he did not understand many things, he loved it: "I read it all at once and it was about 1,300 pages long. His figure impressed me so much that I decided I wanted to study theology. Not to be a priest, just to study theology, because I guess I still didn't dare to recognize my vocation.

Shortly thereafter, he began his period of discernment. When the time came to choose a university degree program , his spiritual director recommended that before entering seminar he should do some civil degree program . He told him about Pamplona and, after evaluating it with his parents, in September 2011 he came to study the double licentiate degree of Philosophy and Journalism, with a scholarship from Alumni and the CARF Foundation.

"Doing a civilian degree program first has helped me to situate myself and put my feet on the ground. Rather than distracting me from God's call, it helped to strengthen it. So little by little I have been cultivating my vocation. Now I am in the seminar properly speaking, but I have realized that the seminar is not a place but a time", he assures.

What Hernando did not know until he told his parents about his vocation was that it was the fruit of a request his mother made to Our Lady of Medjugorje: "My parents could not have children, so they took advantage of a visit of the image of Our Lady in the Cathedral of Cartagena de Indias to go and pray to her. My mother said to the Virgin: 'If you give me a son, I consecrate him to your Son'. On May 1 - the first day of the month of Mary - I was born and, as God is not to be outdone in generosity, three years later my brother was born".

In addition to the Virgin Mary, for obvious reasons, he has a special devotion to St. John Paul II, St. Josemaría Escrivá and St. Teresa of Jesus. "I love Avila and whenever I've been there I've always enjoyed it very much," he says. And he says he would love to be able to help out in a parish there in the summer.

Throughout his university years he has cultivated his love for writing, he has done volunteer activities with Tantaka, doing school support, and has been part of the Arguments team, where he collaborated with the website. She currently lives at seminar Bidasoa International and, God willing, in June 2022, she will finish her high school program in Theology: "If I was born in Cartagena, I think it is because the Lord wants me to be there. I would like to return to Colombia and help in the training of vocations. From St. Teresa and St. Josemaría I have learned that a vocation should be seen as the cultivation of a relationship of friendship with God. When that friendship exists, one reflects the joy of one's vocation.

He feels very grateful for all the support he has received from his formators, both at seminar in Cartagena and Bidasoa and at School of Theology at the University and in the Colegios Mayores where he has lived. Also for the financial aid of all the benefactors who have made it possible, both the scholarship Alumni, with whom he studied the Degree, as well as his parents and the CARF Foundation.