Kevin Serrano Lopez first began to develop an interest in the priesthood when he was 10 years old. Now, at 23, he is three months away from entering St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, on a journey in fulfillment of those first thoughts of becoming a priest. 

“I felt a pull towards the Eucharist. I did my First Communion here. I did all my sacraments here,” Serrano said in an interview last week at Our Lady of Mercy Church in the Bronx, where as a youngster he was an altar server and is now on staff as coordinator of altar servers. Serrano also assists in the CCD program. 

“I remember feeling that pull to receive Holy Communion, that desire to be on that line to receive Jesus. After my First Communion, I felt that desire to serve God at the altar…And I saw myself in those priests serving as a kid,” he said. Those priests would later become his mentors. 

A Mother’s Faith and Devotion 

Later in his mid-teens, although, there was a nearly two-year period when he stopped attending Mass on a regular basis and even began to doubt the importance of the faith. It was a spiritual setback. But thankfully his parish friends and his parents veered him back to the ways of the Lord, especially his mother. “My mom’s faith and devotion has played a huge role in my discernment.” 

Serrano attended public schools but was involved with the Youth Ministry at the parish. Throughout much of his teens and early 20s, thoughts of possibly becoming a priest remained with him. He attended City College in Manhattan for a year, and he later received a trade-school certificate in data analytics. 

After years of discernment since age 10, the decisive moment came last June, at age 22. He later traveled with a clergy-led group to Spain, for a spiritual walk on El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), and eventually applied to the seminary. “I had to let go of that initial fear of feeling unworthy.” 

WATCH: Walking the Camino: An Archdiocesan Pilgrimage of Discernment 

Serrano, Bronx-born of Mexican descent, grew up with five siblings, an older brother and four younger sisters. His brother, Luis, plays the guitar in the parish choir; two of his sisters are altar servers. Their parents are Juan Serrano and Amelia Lopez, active parish volunteers. 

As for related current events, Serrano said, “It’s very beautiful to see the increase in young people who choose to follow Christ, at a lot of parishes, young adults going back. I’m inspired, really. It goes to show that no matter what the world has to offer, it doesn’t truly satisfy anybody.” In his spare time, Serrano enjoys computer programming, as well as visiting the gym to stay fit. Our Lady of Mercy Church is on Marion Avenue south of Fordham Road, east of the Grand Concourse. 

Words from the Pastor 

It was at the same parish, Our Lady of Mercy, where Serrano became inspired by priests when he was 10 while serving as an altar boy. He also sought advice from a seminarian assigned to the parish, a seminarian who is now pastor there, Father Osvaldo Hernandez. 

“Kevin has a dedication to the Church and to the Eucharist – to his relationship with Jesus,” Father Hernandez told The Good Newsroom during the same interview with Serrano. “Kevin brings a good example to the parish community, especially to the young people…I made him in charge of altar servers.” 

Father Hernandez noted that over the past year, largely because of Serrano’s outreach efforts, the number of altar servers has grown from 25 to 40. “Kevin was always curious about the vocation, about what it takes to be a priest, especially when he was 12 to 14 years old. And now he’s about to enter the seminary,” the pastor said. 

Kevin Serrano Lopez, currently a seminarian-elect, will enter St. Joseph’s Seminary during the last days of August, an eight-year commitment. He is bilingual and looks forward to celebrating the liturgy in English and Spanish.