German seminarian: “The Virgin Mary saved me from a virtual life”

Elias is the oldest of four brothers. He was born on April 25, 2001, in Friedberg, Germany, but has always lived in Mering, a small town in Bavaria. His parents grew up on farms in small towns, in very Catholic families, and he owes his faith to them. 

When Elias Baier started high school, his life took another turn and things got worse. «I started to have worse and worse grades and in the end I no longer studied at home. If at first I continued to devour tons of books, especially adventure books, now I spent my time in front of the computer. This made me increasingly incapable of having good relationships until, at the age of 16, I felt quite alone, hiding more and more in the virtual world », he admits openly.

The Scouts saved him from that dangerous slope.A two-week trip to Rome, enjoying the sprawling hills, mountain walks into the city (despite the heat), and glimpses of the Vatican, were the lifeline Baier needed at the time. There they were consecrated to the Virgin in the church of Santa María la Mayor, the mother church of all Marian churches.

«In this consecration, we promised to try to pray at least one mystery of the rosary every day. I really wanted to take it seriously. In the end, the first week after the camp, I didn’t even pray a mystery a day… Maybe you know those good resolutions that are made during retreats, but when you return home you fail horribly. I want to encourage you, especially young people, to try anyway, because my story does not end here.

The Virgin took this consecration very seriously, and he began to transform his entire life. In the following months, a large group of friends was born, and, at that time, it was crucial for him to have Catholic friends. “I am sure that without them, I would not be in the seminary now,” he insists.

This change was impressive because the Virgin and the rosary helped him abandon computer games, and instead he began doing parkour – a sport that consists of overcoming obstacles as quickly as possible, usually in cities -, he became interested in photography and returned to reading.

In 2019, he finished high school and still didn’t really know what to do with his life. He decided to take a year off to explore the world. (...) During his sabbatical year, he also worked as a tinsmith in Uruguay, in a mission of the community of which he is now a part: Work of Jesus High Priest. And they were the most beautiful weeks of his life, even though he could only communicate with people with his hands, a few words in English and a little Spanish that they taught him. But they immediately made him feel at home.

«I made good friends with some of the young people. I was impressed by their example of authentic Christian living, by the joy they spread, by their simplicity, by their fidelity to going to Mass every day. I spent a lot of time in prayer and, after the first few weeks, God gave me clarity about my vocation to be a priest. All the reasons against the priesthood disappeared, and the desire to live only for God and for everyone to enter Heaven remained.

Back home, a few months later, at a retreat, Elias decided to do a year of discernment in the Work of Jesus High Priest community because, in addition, with his family they always went to the family gatherings organized by this community. “By getting to know it better in Uruguay, I really liked their way of doing mission work, the family spirit and the spirituality of intimate love for Mary and the Eucharist.”

“After two years, I began my studies in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and I am very grateful for what I can learn here every day. I do not regret a single day of this path of formation to be a priest. God has always given me what I needed. Obviously, there are difficult moments, but suddenly God takes you back and fills your heart with his love. Finally, I want to thank Mary for bringing me here, where I am now; she who  has always guided me, who is always close to me and to all of you, dear friends and benefactors.”

Adapted from www.exaudi.org