Father Miguel Tovar, 24, is one of the youngest priests in Spain. After his ordination on July 5, 2025, he was able to travel to Rome with his parents and greet Pope Leo XIV.
The Holy Father gave him some valuable advice on how to live his vocation to the full. It was a meeting that promises to bear fruit for a lifetime.
The young Spanish priest shared via X (formerly Twitter) his meeting with Pope Leo XIV in Rome on Thursday, August 7.
He received valuable advice from Leo XIV for his new priesthood.
Upon learning of his recent ordination, the Pope said to him: "Be faithful. Many priests lose their joy. Never lose the joy of the priesthood, which you will always find in prayer."
The beginning of the text of his post on Thursday, August 7, 2025, on the social media platform reads:
What a gift from the Lord, one month after my ordination to the priesthood, to be able to greet the Pope. The Holy Father encouraged me to be faithful and not to lose the joy of the priesthood in prayer. When he learned that my parents had come with me, he congratulated them for giving a 24-year-old son to the Church.
Indeed, upon learning that the young priest's parents were also there, the Pope insisted on meeting them and congratulating them.
“Are they here? Tell them to come! Congratulations to you for giving a 24-year-old son to the Church,” the Pope said. “He blessed all three of us and blessed my deacon's stole and [the stole] of my first confessions,” Father Miguel recounts.
Before his ordination, Miguel shared some details of his journey to the priesthood. He said that he had a happy and Christian childhood together with his parents, his twin brother, and his older sister.
Although he felt God's call at the age of 13, it was at 18, in 2019, that he entered the Major Seminary of San Fulgencio (province of Alicante, Spain). Father Miguel chose as his priestly motto, “His mercy is eternal.”
