(ZENIT News / Rome, March 05.03.2026) – Christian Sguazzino was ordained a priest by Leo XIV on April 26 in St. Peter’s Basilica. As a child, he created an upheaval during Mass at the parish of San Giovanni della Croce and was threatened with excommunication.
“At that time there wasn’t even a proper liturgical hall; instead, the celebrations were held in tents. My friends and I naturally caused quite a bit of chaos. So one day the assistant parish priest threw us out and told us we would be excommunicated! These are his own words. And it’s about his own experience: that of a boy who at that age was quite rambunctious.
But he also recounts that «when I was a child, after making my First Communion, I would go to play soccer and then to Mass every day, always taking a friend with me.»
The curious story of the «threat of excommunication» came to light through testimony that emerged in the context of the priestly ordinations performed by Pope Leo XIV on the fourth Sunday of Easter, traditionally dedicated to vocations. Naturally, it is a contrasting episode, but one that reflects the fact that people can change for the better.
Sguazzino experienced his vocational journey by observing the example of «many priests happy to be priests: their testimony was fundamental.»
Other experiences of those ordained recall the discovery of their vocation through a priest uncle, the atmosphere of a non-Catholic family, musical experiences on international trips, their journey in the Neo-Catechumenal Way, or while working in a liquor factory.
Recalling his childhood mischief, Christian Sguazzino recounted that «even then, despite everything, I felt the joy of being in the Church, with the delight of seeing the altar and the tabernacle.»
