After a decade of discernment, Victor Valdés finds himself on the threshold of priesthood in the Archdiocese of Toronto, the culmination of a vocation that began with a tender nudge from the Holy Spirit in a Scarborough parish pew.

“One Sunday, within the first year of working right after high school, St. Aidan’s Parish was looking for people to join the youth choir. I remember I was sitting in the first few rows with my family and, while I didn't know it at the time, I felt something very gently pushing me towards responding to their call — I now know it was the Holy Spirit,” he told The Catholic Register.

“Although it was  not very characteristic of me at that time, I look back at that as the point in my life where my faith started to change for the better.”

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Born and raised in Scarborough to a mother from Panama and a father from Argentina, Valdés was still a practising Catholic from childhood, attending Sunday Mass and the occasional Confession as encouraged by his mother, even when his faith life was one not deeply involved in parish activities. After graduating from Brebeuf College School, he decided to postpone his post-secondary education due to uncertainties about his immediate career path and instead went straight to work.

As he recalls, the experience in different working fields after high school proved to be a low point in his younger life.

“ I felt a bit without purpose. While it was good that I was making money, at the same time, I didn't feel like I had a specific goal towards anything. Then, when you see your friends all doing their own studies and relationships, it contributed to my own sense of, ‘What am I doing and where am I headed?’ ” Valdés said.

This was all before his decision to join the parish choir around 2010 that would mark the start of a deeper faith journey. With his first real parish involvement, his faith began to grow significantly.  From the choir, he would eventually join the  youth group and become its leader before later joining a young adults' group at St. Timothy's Parish in North York.

It was there, studying the catechism, Valdés found his love for putting his faith into action.

“Not only was I learning more about my own faith, but we were also volunteering together downtown, doing things like Street Patrol work or helping at soup kitchens. That's where I really discovered a love for just being present and helping people,” he said.

Still, the then-youth leader battled with what he wanted his professional life to look like outside of volunteering. After considering social work, he would go on to apply to York University, but was not accepted. Around this time, the thought of priesthood arose, something he’d never considered before, yet found more attractive than anticipated.

Doing his research and meeting with the Office of Vocations director at the time, Fr. Chris Lemieux, the prospect of the priesthood took hold. In 2016, Valdés officially entered St. Augustine’s Seminary, where he has spent the last 10 years in study and preparation.

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Now with a great love for his ongoing vocation, he recalls the first year of entering St. Augustine’s as a particularly tricky time, nonetheless.

“At that time, I had never really done anything on my own; this was the first time I ever left home, lived with strangers, and I was not used to having a schedule where I couldn't do things I wanted when I wanted to. There were definitely a lot of growing pains. I remember the first two weeks of living at the seminary, I thought seriously about leaving just because it was very tough, but I am very grateful I didn't,” he said.

Over the last decade, his experience at St. Augustine's has made for a growing appreciation of the brotherhood and communal life unique to the seminary, saying that sharing the practice of discerning and following God’s will in each man’s life has been the most enjoyable for him.

On Sept. 23, Valdés and three other men were ordained to the transitional diaconate, an experience of profound emotion that has ushered him that much closer to his now-realized call to serve as a priest.

“ It was a very beautiful moment for me, and I remember tearing up during the procession into the cathedral, simply because it was finally real,” he said.

While Valdés currently serves as a deacon at St. Mary’s Parish in Brampton, his next step is to be ordained to the priesthood this May, the summit of his extended call to service.

For the deacon, the wait has not been one of troubling delays, but rather that of God’s perfect timing, with much to look forward to.

“ There's definitely feelings of excitement, not just my own, but feeding off other people's excitement for me as well. I’m looking forward to being able to serve the people of this archdiocese as a priest of Jesus Christ, being present to them and being an instrument of Christ to heal them and bring them closer to Him,” he said.

As a parting word, Valdés shared his heartfelt hopes for those likely to join him in ordination at St. Michael's Cathedral this spring and the same brother companions he's walked alongside through these past years of formation.

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“My hopes for them are that they, too, continue to remain open to God's will in their lives.”

The next community celebration for new priestly vocations in Toronto is set for March 24 at the sold-out Ordinandi Dinner in Brampton.