When Jimmy Venegas was 9 years old, his older brother entered the seminary. He told his curious younger sibling that being a priest meant giving yourself to the Church, helping others and being like a soldier.
For the young boy, it sounded like being a superhero.
Both of Venegas’ older brothers considered the priesthood before they ultimately discerned it not their calling. Still, the family was surprised when their youngest entered the seminary right out of high school.
Out of the three boys, he seemed the least likely to choose this path; they thought the charismatic, math-minded young man would get married and pursue a career in engineering.
But Venegas said that he knew in his heart this was the path God was calling him toward.
Now, halfway through his seminary education, Venegas has discovered so much more about what it really means to be a priest.
From robotics to theology
Venegas was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. The Catholic community in the city is vibrant and faith-filled, as pictured in this packed Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration:
His parents, originally from Mexico, immigrated to the United States for better work opportunities. His father, a truck driver who runs his own business, passed down his work ethic.
Venegas began his first job at age 14 and has worked in everything from fast food to instructing karate
Growing up, Venegas always felt at his best when he was helping someone. “If I saw a classmate crying or if I saw somebody bullying another person, I would always try to step in,” he said. “I would want to cry with them, or help them like a counselor.”
Although he’d had the idea of becoming a priest at a young age, he sometimes questioned that path. He excelled in mechanical engineering at his public high school and traveled to cities outside El Paso winning tournaments in his robotics club.
However, Venegas did not find fulfillment in it.
“The more I kept giving myself to these things, the more I felt empty,” he said
He entered college seminary through the Diocese of El Paso, becoming one of three young men from his public high school to discern a priestly vocation in recent years. His seminarian education is supported by Catholic Extension Society.
Venegas’s friends, who were pursuing engineering degrees, were happy he was doing something he loved. But they were unsure of his decision.
However, as Venegas came back during breaks from his schooling at St. Joseph Seminary College in southern Louisiana, it didn’t take long for lighthearted jokes about his vocation to turn into real, serious conversations about important topics in the world, in the Church and in their own lives.
“I think they really do see that I am called to this, and they have seen a lot of fruits to it. It’s even encouraged them to live out their faith more,” he said.
Now, as some of his friends begin to get married and have children, they are eager for him to become ordained so he can perform weddings and baptisms. They tell him he’s going to be their “priest on call,” Venegas joked.
Infinite love
In 2024, Venegas earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and liberal arts.
He is now attending Mundelein Seminary in Illinois and has completed his first year of theology.
He observes that, unlike his previous studies in mechanical engineering, there isn’t always an exact answer. Rather, he has learned to embrace the beauty of what he can’t define.
“I’m still a little influenced in math, but I’ve realized through the years that you can’t exhaust that mystery that you’re getting out of our faith,” he said.
“I can’t really box everything in or put it in an equation. Or even the human person, too. We’re a big mystery. Even God Himself.”
He never knew “how vulnerable you have to be” to love in the way that Jesus does, he said. “I look at the heart of Christ and it’s like, man, his heart takes all of that. And it amazes me. It just moves me to be like, yes, I want to be more like you.”
Venegas looks forward to three more years in seminary and an additional pastoral year, especially working with and learning from the priests and lay leaders in El Paso.
He’s eager to serve anywhere, whether that’s in his home city or the many small missions scattered throughout the vast desert territory of the diocese.
I want people to know more about their faith. To mix in the intellect and the heart. The more we know God, the deeper we fall in love with Him.”
He shared this message of gratitude to the supporters of Catholic Extension Society:
“May God give you more. Sincerely, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Your prayers, your economic support. Thank you so much. We’re trying to be the best men we can be for the Church, and you are helping us be able to arrive at that. … I don’t have much to give except my life. I’m excited for that.”
When you support vocations, you support the whole Church! Jimmy Venegas is among 400 seminarians from 68 dioceses that Catholic Extension Society is supporting this year.
Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities among the poor in the poorest regions of America.
