From Prodigal to Priest: A Journey Home to Family, Faith, and the Father's Embrace

By Fr. Goyo Hidalgo

Goyo Hidalgo’s struggle with excess, pain, and fear plagued him for ten years. The gritty story of his unexpected redemption started after a hard night of partying in Los Angeles and a life-changing message coming from his television.

He woke up that April morning to the broadcast of Pope John Paul II’s funeral Mass. A reflection on the now-saint’s message of “Be not afraid” awakened a deep longing in Hidalgo’s soul—a yearning that led him back to the Catholic faith of his youth and ultimately into the priesthood.

From Prodigal to Priest takes you on Hidalgo’s journey of reconciliation with his faith and his family. He offers compassionate encouragement to those who believe themselves unforgivable and reminds them that Jesus is always there to welcome them home to the Church. Hidalgo’s conversion story affirms the power of God’s mercy and the deep transformation his grace can bring.

Hidalgo grew up in a devout Catholic family in a small town in Spain. He went to a minor seminary as a youth to begin studies to become a priest, but left after about five years. Once he went to college, he fell away from the faith—and repeatedly lied to his mother about it. Hidalgo’s dream was to travel the world and teach, leaving poverty behind.

With Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) as a companion, you will walk with Hidalgo through both the joy and the difficulties he experienced as he came home to the Catholic faith of his childhood—confessing to his mother, relearning how to pray, going to Confession, telling his friends about his reversion, and his call to the priesthood. And you will learn that it’s important to pray, discern, trust, and be thankful to God, regardless of the outcome.

Each chapter includes prayers for both prodigal sons and daughters and those who accompany them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Release date: Feb 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9781646802135

Fr. Goyo Hidalgo

Fr. Goyo Hidalgo is a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, a singer-songwriter, and a social media evangelist. A native of La Villa de Don Fadrique, a small town near Toledo, Spain, he attended minor seminary as a youth to become a priest, but left after six years. He earned master’s degrees in English and Spanish linguistics from Complutense University of Madrid in 1996, after which he traveled to other countries to teach Spanish and English. He eventually became a middle and high school teacher in the Los Angeles, California, area and released two albums of Catholic music in Spanish and English. Hidalgo underwent a radical reversion to the faith of his youth after watching the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and hearing his famous words: “Do not be afraid.” Hidalgo earned a master of divinity degree from St. John’s seminary in Camarillo, California, and was ordained to the priesthood in 2016.

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