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Name: Alberto Perez
Date of birth: September 4, 1981
Hobbies and interest: listening to music, reading, playing soccer
Favorite saints: St. John Bosco
I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. I am the second youngest of nine brothers and sisters in my family. Since I was a child the relationships within my family have been always good and gratifying. During my childhood, one of my happiest moments was when I started to serve in my parish as an altar boy while learning many things about the Church and her people. I grew up in Tlaquepaque, Mexico until I turned sixteen years old and entered the minor seminary in 1997. I attend this seminary for three years. Once I graduated from high school I attended a program offered by the seminary with subjects such history of the church, liturgy, faith education, and physiology. In 2001 I started my philosophy studies. After the second year of philosophy I left the seminary. Afterward, I worked in the city of Guadalajara as a receptionist in the Moralva Hotel. What I most enjoyed of my job was that I got to know many people from different places.
I consider that my background has helped me in my decision to study for the priesthood. I have had a few people who have influenced my life, one of them being the associate pastor of my parish in Guadalajara when I was an altar boy. He was the one who encouraged me to go into the seminary and he supported me when I entered the seminary. He impacted my life in many ways especially when I saw his pastoral care towards the people in the parish. Another person who influenced my life was a spiritual director from the seminary. What inspired me about him was how he related with other seminarians and how he supported me with spiritual advice and most especially the way he lived his priesthood. He was a good person who maintained a friendship with God and reflected this in his way of living. These two people have inspired me in my decision to continue as a seminarian. Even more, my family has always supported me in my decision since I entered the seminary. They have always encouraged me to continue this style of life, even though I am living far from them in the Diocese of Oakland.
I know that I need to respond every single day to the call of God in order to prepare myself for the priesthood. It is a call that I feel and know is from God. For this reason prayer and the Eucharist have been important in my life. I think that these two are vital and essential for each one of us as Catholics. Finally, what a priest means to me is that he is a person from God who guides people in the important parts of their life. A priest is someone who helps people in their spiritual journey to God.