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Name: Oscar Rojas
Date of birth: March 5, 1988.
Hobbies: Listening to music, playing soccer.
Favorite Saints: St. Michael, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Maria Goretti
I was born in Santo Tomas, San Salvador, El Salvador. I was baptized at San Juan Bautista Parish in the city of Olocuilta. My parents are Abraham Rojas and Blanca Isabel Martinez de Rojas. I have one brother and one sister.
I grew up in the Canton Concepción Los Planes, San Francisco Chinameca, La Paz El Salvador with my great- grandmother and my great-grandfather. They are Catholic and they taught me about my faith and about the Church. One day my Pastor asked me, “Do you want to go to the Seminary?” I said “Yes,” although I didn’t know a lot about the priesthood at the time. He helped me understand the vocation of the priesthood. While I was in high school I continued to discern a vocation to the priesthood. After some time my Pastor asked me the question again. “Do you want to go to the Seminary?” Again, I said “Yes.”
I was accepted to the Seminary in 2005 by the Bishop Elias Samuel Bolaños in the Diocese of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador. I began to study in the minor Seminary John Paul II for two years. After preparatory studies I started my first year of philosophy studies at Blessed John XXIII Seminary in 2008. There I was able to enjoy different pastoral experiences on the weekend. In my first year there I was assigned to San Juan Bautista Parish in San Juan Tepezonte. In my second year of I went to serve in Santa Cruz Parish, Paraiso de Osorio.
At the end of my last year at Blessed John XXIII Seminary Bishop Bolaños told me about a seminarian training program with the Diocese of Oakland. The Bishop consulted with the administration of the Seminary and the Oakland vocation director, Fr. Larry D’Anjou, came to visit us at there. I came to the U.S. on January 17, 2010 and I am now studying English in Monterey, California. I hope to begin to studying theology soon as I continue to prepare for priestly service to the people of God through His grace.