What pushed you to become a priest? A 13-year-old girl asked Don Marco, during an informal interview on the many “anecdotes” that have dotted his life and priesthood. «I was not counting on becoming a priest. I had only asked some advice from the people who were older and had more worldly experience than me, so as to see what humanity needs most today. I could have become a teacher or an engineer. I also liked architecture, or travelling. I liked so many things, and was doing well in school. Those were the years of the economic boom and I had all the possibilities. I was uncertain since I had received a university scholarship, but I wanted to be useful. So I booked an appointment with the Bishop. I wanted to ask him what he thought, about what humanity needs most. He was so busy that he did not have time to talk to me, and I was alone for hours, so much so that I thought: “surely humanity doesn’t need me, but perhaps not even the church needs me, and whoever said that you are so important? Perhaps I am not worth anything… but I love Jesus and will love him always, even if I turned out to be useless.” Finally, when the Bishop found time to speak with me, and asked me what I wanted, I didn’t want anything anymore! And so I told him that I could probably collaborate… He was surprised, undecided, but in the end he said:   “Yesterday I laid the cornerstone of a church. When this church, will be finished six years from now, it will have no priest. Would you like to be the parish priest of that church?” But my first experience had been a choice of God, first of all, and not that of becoming a priest, but to follow God and love Jesus, even if I was useless, since Jesus in the end, will make you do something. » (Fr. Marco – Italy)