By: Valentina Di Donato
Just a few weeks after the start of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, he celebrated an ordination Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and urged the new priests to welcome God’s grace so they might remain close to the people they serve as credible witnesses.
Father Andrea Alessi was one of those priests ordained by Pope Leo XIV. EWTN Correspondent Valentina Di Donato spoke with Father Alessi, of the Church of the Holy Family of Divine Love, to discover the experiences that brought him from the military service to the holy calling. He shared:
“I believe that the priest is a man that is in love with Christ. He discovers a calling for this love and the desire and gift to give himself completely to the Lord. And that’s why it’s a progressive journey of awareness. A desire to pronounce the word arises. To pronounce the word of God, to become aware of it, to study it. It’s a desire also to arrive through a journey of discernment.”
How did this happen for you and when?
“I was able to have some experiences of drawing near, which then allowed me to come to that decision where, I wanted to give myself to the Lord, I wanted to enter the seminary freely and joyfully.
“About two years earlier, I had done the Camino to Santiago de Compostela and during this journey, which I did alone, I was able to reflect on what my life had been. And this reflection happened in the light of prayer. I would leave in the morning from the hostel where I had slept, and spontaneously I would begin to pray the Rosary, I would start to reflect, to thank God, and a desire began to arise in me—though I didn’t yet know what name to give it.
“Thanks to a friend of mine who used to go to a beach on the Roman coast—this beach had the special feature of being welcoming to everyone, even giving access to people with disabilities. Above all, we would gather every day at 3 p.m., under a large cross, to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and then to share the Gospel of the day.
“It was July 10th, 2016, at 7 in the evening. I remember I was there on the beach, waiting for the celebration of Mass. Right at the beginning of the celebration, during the entrance hymn, I was asking the Lord: “But if you are calling me to the priesthood, if you want me, if you want me as a priest, make it clear to me.”
“And right at that entrance hymn, the song was “Come and follow me”, and during that song, I felt those words were being spoken to me. I remember I began to cry, I began to feel a deep emotion. I wouldn’t know how to describe in words what I felt, what I experienced—I can only say that I truly felt the Lord calling me to follow Him.
“At the same time, in that moment, there was also a struggle within me to listen to those words. It was almost as if to say: “Lord, do you know my story? Do you know my life?” Even my age—I was nearly forty. Yet that “Come and follow me” was so solid, so beautiful, so compelling, that I couldn’t say no.”
In that moment that you heard the song “Come and Follow Me” was that moment a confirmation for you?
“Let’s say that, in that moment, it was for me a response to a restlessness in my heart, and in that ‘Come and follow me,’ I recognized myself. I recognized that it was the word, the phrase my heart had been searching for—even though it didn’t quite know what it was looking for. That ‘Come and follow me’ said, ‘Yes, this is what I’ve been searching for.'”
What advice can you give?
“I believe that the Lord places in our path certain people, events, or moments through which He makes Himself known—moments in which He becomes present. And then it’s up to us to make space for this work that the Lord wants to carry out in our hearts, to listen to Him. And then, in freedom and generosity, to entrust ourselves to His word. Because, as a friend of mine used to say, ‘With God, you never lose.'”
Thank you very much.
“Thank you!”
Adapted by Jacob Stein
