Twenty-nine years ago, in a rural area of Arequipa, Peru, Simón Jesús Silloca Quico was born. The second to last of nine siblings, he grew up in a Christian home. His parents were dedicated to domestic livestock and cultivating the land, tasks that were barely enough to support the family, but he says that "we grew up working and acquiring values such as hard work and responsibility". At home and at high school, he was deepening his knowledge of the Faith, however, he affirms that the main impetus for his future vocation was the arrival of a priest in his town: "Until then, the faithful were attended once a week or every 15 days, but this priest lived among us for three years. That is how we got to know him closely and what made many young people enthusiastic about the priesthood". After a while, this priest left to attend to other towns and with him went Simon's vocational concerns, "but the seed was already sown," he says.

After studying the technical degree program , he started working in a graphic industry business . Although it had always been his main goal goal, he says that this life was not fulfilling: "At that time, I had three friends at seminar. One day, I was invited to a 15-day vocational course and after completing it, I finally discerned that God was calling me to the priesthood. He was 21 years old when he entered seminar in Camana, a very young training house, where 15 seminarians lived. "My brothers did not understand why I made that decision. They knew how hard I had worked to study and get a stable employment , but they didn't object. My parents also knew what it is like for a son to give up everything for a vocation, because I have a religious sister. They expected something else from me, but they understood," he explains.

Simón is concluding his programs of study from high school program at Sacred Theology at the University of Navarra. Four years ago, he arrived in Pamplona at the initiative of his bishop: "Although in Peru I had a somewhat negative conception of the university, because the professors and students went on strike continuously, the University of Navarra surprised me a lot: the atmosphere, the students from different countries, the possibility for each one to share their experiences with the others, the eagerness to deepen and learn about the problems of the world....". He assures that, during this time, he has seen "many people enthusiastic about doing very good things, with a desire to do good for the love of God and others".

This is something he has also learned at seminar Bidasoa International, where he received his priestly training . Asked about his experience, he explains that in Bidasoa he has had brothers more than companions: "From the beginning, they become part of your family and that is when their problems become yours. For example, the latest attack that took place in Indonesia: something like this always affects you, but if a confrere tells you that the bomb exploded in the parish where he was baptized, it is as if it had happened in your own parish. Or the problems narrated by our brothers in Venezuela or Nicaragua ..... Their sorrows become yours. In Bidasoa you learn to be in solidarity with others, to pray for their needs and to try to do everything in your power to help them".

Pamplona also witnessed his ordination to the diaconate. On April 14, in the parish of St. Nicholas, he was conferred the diaconate along with twelve other students of School of Theology: "That day I felt many things, almost all of them indescribable. It is a very exciting moment, when you think that, despite your weaknesses, God trusts you. In that instant, you reaffirm yourself and think of all that you can give to others with His grace. He has given me so much. Because for Simon the priesthood is "a great gift of Christ for his Church, who wanted to leave his presence and his hands so that they could reach all men, people who are anxious for God; a gift so that anyone who wants to be happy can have the hand of Christ at his disposal". He adds with a smile: "Those of us who have been called are very lucky".

He takes a lot from Spain, both academically, spiritually and personally, so he does not want to stop thanking his benefactors "and God, because he is the main benefactor: he gives his thanks by making use of other people who generously collaborate so that this works". He also encourages them to "continue persevering and sowing with great generosity, because although sometimes the seed does not sprout immediately, we must wait for the Lord to make it bloom. I will continue to pray that these people continue to bet on wanting to spread the Gospel, because that is the main goal".