Putting On The New Man: Cong Le and Juan Pablo Avila Profiles of New NDS Seminarians


By: Jason Songe, Seminarian, Archdiocese of New Orleans

Putting On The New Man is a series of the NDS Blog that will introduce the new faces you see in the seminary.

 

CONG LE

My name is Cong Le from the Diocese of Raleigh. I became a seminarian in 2012. MY favorite saints are St. Joseph and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. My favorite movie is the life of Jesus. The scripture passage John 8:12 is a favorite: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” I have wanted to be a priest since I was an altar server and involved in my church’s youth group. I fell in love with the priesthood: thinking about it brought much peace and joy. The name of my favorite spiritual book is Jesus is my all in all by Mother Teresa. My vocation story: When I was working with the youth in Greensboro, I felt that I had something missing from my life. I could not explain what I was missing, so I prayed and asked God “What do you want me to do?” like St. Francis of Assisi did. After three years, I talked with a priest and believed that God was calling me. My favorite hobbies are playing sports and cooking.

 

JUAN PABLO AVILA

My name is Juan Pablo Avila from the Archdiocese of Atlanta. I am originally from Colombia. My favorite saint is St. Francis of Assisi. One of my favorite movies is Roma, a Mexican movie by Alonso Cuaron. My favorite scripture passage is Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” I never thought about being a priest, but it was through personal prayer and the Eucharist that I started thinking about priesthood in my second year of college. My favorite book is The Way of a Pilgrim, whose author is unknown. I came to the U.S.A in 2013 to discern my vocation with the Archdiocese of Atlanta and it has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I like, jogging, swimming, traveling and listening to music.

 


About the Author: Jason Songe, Seminarian, Archdiocese of New Orleans


Jason is a seminarian in First Theology.


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