Tatted-Up And ‘Fond Of Piercings’, Maltese Priest-To-Be Breaks Down How He Discovered His Calling
A Maltese priest-to-be has opened up about how he was in his late 20s, living his life carefree when he turned everything around and dedicated his life to religion.
“I was in a relationship and very fond of piercings and even tattoos. Suffice to say I had done a tattoo from Dante’s masterpiece the Divina Commedia on my back. At 28 years though, I decided to join the Salesians as an aspiring priest. There was a lot of scepticism following my decision and was told: ‘You shall not be able to survive without the pleasures of life’,” Matthew Alfino said in a new eye-opening interview with The People of Malta.
Saying he had always been fascinated by the oratory and had always felt close to the Salesians. He said the organisation’s oratory in Sliema “felt like home” to him.
“And since I was always annoying, I used to participate in everything… Theatre, brigades, past pupils, youth centre, worship team,” he said.
Even after discovering his calling, he wasn’t always a saint.
“When I was younger I was always up to some kind of mischief. I recall a particular incident next to the theatre, close to the Sliema Oratory. There was an old VW Beetle which used to be parked always in the same place. Once, together with my friends, we moved this car to the middle of the road and you can imagine the traffic and chaos we caused!”
Matthew said that learning more about St John Bosco led to a “turning point” in his life.
“I am currently in my sixth year and have another four years to go before becoming a Salesian priest. Though from the outside, it may seem that the road to becoming a Salesian priest is long, in reality, this is not so, because every stage has its rewards.”
“My motivation came from finding a saint, St John Bosco, who was humane, kept his feet firmly on the ground and was a practical person. He worked extensively with youths, something I look for. I love the practical attitude of this particular saint. He was not a detached person, he experienced poverty, strove to be there for others, and that is what I aspire and try to be.”
Nowadays, Matthew said the greatest challenge to society is that it’s become more “individualistic” with young people becoming “overwhelmed with technology”.
He hopes that both he and the adults in society can serve as a guiding light for the next generations; as for his personal mission, he hopes he can “guide others to discover themselves in the image of God”.
Do you have your own story about finding God?
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