Listen to this story:
By John Dougherty
A little over 500 years ago, a young man looked at his life and realized that God was calling him to more. This is how the Jesuit story began. That’s still how Jesuit stories start: men from all walks of life discover that God’s dreams for them are bigger than they ever could have imagined.
From the Pleasures of the World to God’s Peace
That was certainly the case for Alejandro Lozano. Born in Ibagué, Colombia, he moved to Bogota to study history at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Xavier Pontifical University). He had money to spare — an inheritance left by his father, who passed when Alejandro was four — which enabled him to live a life reminiscent of the young Ignatius. His weekends were a blur of partying, drinking, and girlfriends. “Religion and Christian morality were, for me, an affair that only my grandmother could take seriously,” he said.
But university was also where he first met Jesuit scholastics. At first, they puzzled him: “I simply could not believe that there existed people of my age who did not ‘have fun.’” But as he spent time with them, he noticed something different about them: “I realized that it was the light of joy, that they were happy.” Seeing their joy, Alejandro recognized the spiritual emptiness of his own life. In his heart, he felt the call to something more.
Seeing [Jesuit’s] joy, Alejandro recognized the spiritual emptiness of his own life. In his heart, he felt the call to something more.
The hardest part, however, was accepting that call. Because of his “worldly” past, he did not feel worthy of it. But after much prayer and reflection, he came to what he calls “the fundamental truth of the Gospel,” the paradoxical fact of God’s boundless love. “Even if I spent a lifetime offering Him arguments about why I am not worthy of His call, He called me, because He wanted to do that and for no other reason,” he said. “And I am no one to argue, no one to resist. My role is to say, ‘yes.’”
A Student in the Humanities and a Student of Christ
After graduating with a bachelor’s in history in 2016, Alejandro spent a year as a public servant in Colombia’s Ministry of National Education and then relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, to pursue a master’s in education at the University of British Columbia. Graduating in 2020, he spent a year working with children with special needs at a high school in Victoria. At the same time, he said, Christ was teaching him. In 2022, he became a permanent resident of Canada and shortly after entered the Jesuit novitiate.
“He was just a wandering guy searching for his own path, and he found it because of God,” said Juan Camilo Mutis, a friend of Alejandro’s, who lives in Bogota. Juan believes that Alejandro (whom he calls Diego) is suited for Jesuit life with his natural curiosity and desire for knowledge. “Eight years ago, when he started thinking about going abroad, he didn’t know a word of English,” he said. “Now look at him: he knows English and French.” Juan praised his friend’s heart as well as his mind: “He has been like a rock for me. Diego has always been an open heart and an open ear for me. He has always been someone that I can trust.”
“He was just a wandering guy searching for his own path, and he found it because of God.” – Juan Camilo Mutis, Alejandro’s friend
The Unexpected Gift of Quebec
Alejandro’s time in the novitiate strengthened and confirmed his vocation. In 2024, he professed first vows in Syracuse, New York, alongside his brother novices from the USA East Province. It was one of the most potent spiritual experiences of his life.
“The day of my vows is in my memory like a biblical image,” Alejandro said. “I see myself burning in that burning bush, pronouncing vows, offering myself in sacrifice. And I don’t know how it happened. I feel that I did nothing. That it was all God… that it was all a gift.”
During the past year, Alejandro has participated in a special year of “Juniorate” between the novitiate and First Studies, studying French in Quebec. At first, he was nervous, having heard that Quebec was radically secular. “I thought coming here would kill my faith and my vocation,” he wrote in an essay about the experience. Instead, he was astounded to discover how much the people of Quebec could teach him about the love of God. “The Quebecois have shown me that life is not about following rules to prove oneself,” he wrote. “Life is about la joie de vivre — savoring the little moments, the small gifts of each day, the miracle of every hour in which God is present.”
He also finds God in his community, which he calls “one of the biggest blessings of my vocation.” “I love the Fathers I live with,” he said, “I love them deeply, I love them dearly. I could write you a poem for each of them!”
Just as the Jesuits have become his brothers, Canada has become his home. After three years of permanent residency, the time has come for him to receive Canadian citizenship. “Receiving that citizenship will be almost as meaningful as my religious vows,” he said. His entire Jesuit life has taken place in Canada. While relocating was an enormous leap of faith, he credits it with allowing him to start over fresh and embrace God’s call. “Canada is my holy land, my hermitage, my Church. I’ve been completely transfigured in God in the Canadian land.”
2016 : B.A. in history, Xavier University (Universidad Javeriana)
2017 : Public servant, clerk for the Colombian State (National Ministry of Education)
2020 :M.Ed., University of British Columbia
2021 :Employee at the Special Needs Department of a high school, British Columbia
2022 :Permanent resident of Canada and Jesuit novice
2024 : First vows as a Jesuit
Alejandro’s story made you curious about Jesuit life? Learn more at BeAJesuit.org
