I am very pleased to meet with you today, members of the Serra Club. I feel a strong bond with you because of my personal history and pastoral duties.
When I was a seminarian, in Yucatan, I recall a group of Serra Club members was a strong supporter of the Seminary. They held their meetings in an area of the building intended for this purpose and were always ready to support the Seminary in whatever manner they could, with an ecclesial spirit, which was particularly admirable for its generosity.
Later, as the rector of the same Seminary, it was my turn to undertake two wonderful projects: that of a group of Serra Club families who helped in the vocational campaign of the Seminary and that of a group of young Serrans, who helped the Seminary with new initiatives.
Already as bishop of Papantla, Mexico, I encouraged the development of several youth groups of the Serra Club. Now, as Secretary for Seminaries of the Congregation for the Clergy, I am again pleased to note a significant presence of the Serra Club, which was the first institution to join the Pontifical Society for Priestly Vocations in 1951.
Therefore, I would like to draw upon my own experience and my own musings regarding the charism of the Club, and I would like to look towards the future with you, as always, with our point of departure being contemplation of the Lord who calls us and sends us to carry out a mission.
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