Cyrille Santos

I am blessed to have grown up in a Catholic household and attend Catholic school, however, my personal relationship with Jesus did not start until I met CCO in my first year of university. I always learned about who God was but I never knew what it meant to have a relationship with Him. It wasn’t until a night of Eucharistic Adoration at CCO’s Rise Up conference in 2018 when I heard Jesus speak to me personally. A song was playing but I knew that it was Jesus speaking to me directly through the lyrics: “I am chosen, not forsaken, I am who You say I am.” I always heard that I was a child of God, but at that moment I was convicted of this new-found identity. Through the help of the CCO missionaries on my campus, and being surrounded by a young Catholic community, I knew I got to know Jesus personally and grow in my relationship with Him.

My Mission

Throughout my years as a student with CCO, becoming a CCO missionary was never part of my plan. It was in my last semester of university when all of this changed and Jesus placed a new desire on my heart.

At the beginning of my final semester, I attended CCO’s Student Leader Gathering and was in awe of how Jesus changed the lives of so many people at my campus. At the same time, I was reflecting on all that Jesus had done in my own life through my time with CCO. After witnessing all of this, Jesus placed a strong desire on my heart to want to be part of the mission that brings people to Him – I wanted to see conversions happen all the time! Knowing that this was not my initial plan, and seeing how God has prepared the way for me, I am convinced that this is His plan and nothing brings me more peace and joy than following His call!