According to a report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, young men are four times more likely to consider becoming a priest or brother if they attend World Youth Day.
Father Nelson Cintra, a newly ordained priest in Idaho, is proof of this phenomenon.
Since 1985, World Youth Day has provided young Catholics the opportunity to experience how the Church transcends borders, nationalities and backgrounds. The global gathering, which occurs every three years, transforms the lives of attendees as they share their passion for their faith among their peers and with the pope.
Father Cintra’s story is unique—his encounter of a Church without borders at World Youth Day mirrored his own life and vocational journey, which began a world away. Catholic Extension Society funded his seminarian education, but his calling followed him in his journey across the world.
One hemisphere to another
Born in Brazil, Father Cintra grew up in a Catholic home and school. However, the early loss of his father to cancer led him to question his faith in God throughout his youth.
In 1999 at age 13, he relocated to Ohio with his mother to join their American-born family members. He went on to study at The Ohio State University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in psychology.
The new Buckeye alumnus was a young man with the world at his fingertips. And like many young people do, he made the adventurous choice to move across the country. In 2011, he moved to Idaho and began working as a mentor at a boarding school for troubled youth.
During those years in his early career, he began attending a little mission church, St. Ann’s Parish in Arco. Catholic Extension Society helped establish the parish in 1956 and supported it through the years. It was there that his faith started to rekindle.
“I give you my whole life”
Father Cintra’s sister encouraged him to stay connected to his Catholic faith, so in August of that year, she bought him a ticket to attend World Youth Day in Madrid. The young professional from Idaho didn’t know what to expect.
Once there with his travel group, Father Cintra (pictured below in the top row, far left), said he was moved by the crowd’s “visible representation of the universal Church.” He met many young people from all corners of the world who came together to rejoice “because of the Church and because of the pope.”
When Pope Benedict XVI addressed the throngs of young people, Father Cintra said he felt as if the Holy Father was speaking “very directly, very convincingly, very compellingly” to him. The pope’s words provided closure to Father Cintra’s questions about God following his father’s death.
But what struck him most was being around passionate, faith-filled young adults for the first time. He listened to pilgrims speak about “how to live with God, and how to pursue holiness.”
During a heavy rainstorm, he stepped away from his group for a private moment of prayer.
He said to the Lord,
I give you my whole life. I give it in your Church.”
When he returned to Idaho, he began living an intentional Christian life and opened himself up to priesthood. He entered Mount Angel Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 2023. Not long after, he celebrated his first Mass as a new priest for the Diocese of Boise.
His diocese covers the 84,000 square miles of Idaho, and the young priest is overjoyed to be able to offer the sacraments to hungry souls like himself.
He said,
I’m going to these communities that don’t have a priest, that don’t have regular access to the sacraments, that don’t have the luxury of choosing which church they want to attend. But they are really just grateful for anything and anyone that the Church can give them.”
Idaho priest with global perspective
The Brazilian-born Buckeye now feels at home in Idaho. Father Cintra currently serves as parochial vicar of Pope St. John Paul II Parish and Holy Rosary Catholic School, both in Idaho Falls. He teaches young students in the classroom to grow in their knowledge and love of God.
While he settles into his local community as priest, he has not lost sight of the universality of the Church that first drew him to the priesthood. He returned to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, last year, celebrating Mass for people coming from all over the world, including this group of pilgrims from his diocese.
He was glad to be part of the group’s transformative experience. It was a reminder of where his vocation came about and how it led him to an unanticipated permanent Catholic home in Idaho.
In an interview with Catholic Extension Society, he expresses gratitude to Catholic Extension Society for being part of his long and winding journey to the priesthood that he says is already paying “high dividends” today:
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