REDEMPTORIS MATER
DIOCESAN MISSIONARY SEMINARY OF BRIDGEPORT
FRANCISCO DE JESUS VILLEGAS
My name is Francisco De Jesus Villegas, I was born on August 24, 2001, and I am the last of six children. I am from Woodbridge, Virginia. My parents, Henry Villegas and Gloria Martinez, come from small towns in El Salvador. In 2014, my family was sent to Philadelphia as a missionary family to help at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary that had been recently established there. There I grew in faith and saw the providence of God. I began to understand that God loves me the Way I am, with my imperfections, with all my sins, with all my shortcomings. This made me know that the Lord loved my Father, too. It was an invitation to love my Father and to reconcile with him and my history. If it were not for my Father, I would not be the man I am today. I would not have faith to leave my family and to go to the Seminary. My Father has taught me that my mission in life is to do the Lord's will, and he is a big part of why I am in Connecticut, discerning what the Lord has in store for me in my life.