Fr. Jorge Eduardo García Valdés L.C.

I was born in the city of Zacatecas, Mexico, on January 12, 1973. I am the fourth of six children: 4 brothers and 2 sisters. My dad, Gerardo García, is a civil engineer and my mom, Rebeca Valdés, is a homemaker. Both were always dedicated to us in all aspects. After living for brief periods of time in Zacatecas, Cananea, and Mexico City, I spent my childhood and the first years of my adolescence in Aguascalientes.

When I was little, I thought sometimes about being a priest, and my cousins and siblings started to call me “the little priest.” But the truth is that God’s call did not become apparent to me until many years later. When I look back over my life, I see clearly how the Lord was preparing me to listen to him and respond with generosity.

My parents told me that when I was almost 5, while playing on the second floor balcony, I fell and hit my head very hard. The doctors thought I had fractured my cranium and that I would have a cerebral hemorrhage, but thanks be to God, I came out healthy and safe, without any serious consequences. My mother says that when I left the hospital, they took me to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to give thanks to Mary.

Examples of Generosity and Zeal
I remember that in the summers, we went to Zacatecas and my grandfather, may he rest in peace, liked me to accompany him to Mass every day. Afterwards, seated on a bench in the Independence Park, he told me about everything they had suffered in the times of the Cristero War. I was very impressed when he told me that the soldiers entered into the church on Sunday, opened the tabernacle with bullet shots, and scattered the Eucharist all over the central nave, trampling it with their horses.

No doubt, the witness of Father José Guadalupe Díaz Morones, may he rest in peace, was fundamental in the image I formed then of the priest. Father Díaz was the director of the Portugal School in Aguascalientes, where I attended primary and secondary school. He was always concerned to form us as authentic Christians and men of goodness for society. Every First Friday of the month, he celebrated Mass for the school in the church of San Marcos and he always instilled in us a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In high school and university, along with studies, I was deep into soccer; I was an affiliate of the Guadalajara club in Aguascalientes and was an instructor in the soccer school with a group of 9 and 10 year old boys. During that time, I also helped my dad in his office as a civil engineer by transferring architectonic plans to the computer. How grateful I am to my mom and dad for teaching us the value of work from a young age!

My brother Daniel went to the apostolic school in León at the age of 12, and from then on he invited me to come and see about my vocation, but I was so into my own things that I didn’t leave myself any opportunity to listen to God’s call. Years later, Daniel saw that religious life was not his path. Today he is a committed lay man. He is married, has a son named Juan Pablo (John Paul), and works in the Legion’s Cumbres Institute, a high school in Mexico City.

It wasn’t until I was 23 years old that God knocked on my door in a very simple and ordinary way. Brother Noel Quezada, LC, who at that time was a co-worker in Aguascalientes, invited me to the Regnum Christi Movement. I worked with the priests in the youth clubs to help form boys in their faith. One fine day, the topic of the vocation came up with my spiritual direction, and I went to the Monterrey novitiate where I met Father Ricardo Sada, LC

The truth is that I went to the vocational activity mainly out of curiosity, but God used it to speak to me very clearly. Once I was in front of Christ in the Eucharist in the chapel, I realized everything that God had given me and how little I had responded to his grace. I talked to Father Ricardo and made the decision to go to the summer candidacy program to see if God was asking me to give him my entire life. From that moment on, I “signed a blank paper” for God so that he could write whatever he wanted for my life.

A Mother’s Promise
When I told my mom that I felt like God was calling me, she said, “Son, I already knew from a long time ago that this could happen to you. It seems that Our Lady of Guadalupe waited until now to take me at my word, because when we brought you to her after the accident, I told her: “Mother, thank you for saving him. If your Son wants him, let this child be for Him.” Then my mom added: “Only God knows if he is calling you. Go and see, and if he is, only you can respond to that call. It’s between you and God.”

It went differently with my dad, since he told me to think it over well, and that it was better to work for one or two years after finishing my degree so that I would enjoy a bit of the effort I had made in my years of study. But I told him, “Dad, how many souls do you think a priest can save in one or two years if he works with zeal and self-giving?” My dad answered, “Undoubtedly many.” I said, “Dad, I don’t want those souls to be lost while I get the most out of my university degree.” My dad promised me his blessing forever. In the days I spent at home before leaving for the novitiate, God helped me to take my last pending professional exam, and I was able to hand over my diploma to my dad. It was the summer of 1997 and I was 24 years old.

All of the situations and people who have been present in my life can seem very circumstantial, but I am convinced that for God, there are no coincidences; there is only Providence. I thank God for the gift of the Legionary priesthood, aware that I carry this treasure in a clay vessel, and I trust fully that he who began the good work in me will carry it through to completion.

Father Jorge Eduardo García was born on January 12, 1973 in Zacatecas, Mexico. He entered the Legion of Christ on June 23, 1997, did his novitiate in Salamanca, Spain, and completed his humanities studies in Cheshire, CT. From 2000 to 2002, he studied philosophy in the United States. He worked in Coahuila (Mexico) in youth work and spent one year working at Le Châtelard (Switzerland). He studied philosophy and theology in Rome and is currently working with youth in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.