At a young age, he entered Madrid’s Conciliary Seminary, where he received his high school education and formation in theology. In 1975, he was ordained a priest and the following year, he received his degree in Theology, with a specialization in Sacred Scripture, at the Comillas Pontifical University. At this time, he began to further pursue his studies on the Bible and the Gospels in Washington, D.C., and in Jerusalem. Subsequently, during the nineties, he gave lectures on the historicity of the New Testament around the world. From 1991 to 1997, he taught a class titled “Man’s Religious Sense,” organized by the Diocesan Delegation for University Pastoral Services at the Complutense University in Madrid. During this period, he was also head of the Minor Seminary. In the mid-eighties, after having completed his doctorate, Fr. Carrón started to work at the San Dámaso Faculty of Theology in Madrid, where he taught as a professor on the New Testament, and until 1994, he was also the rector of the Colegio Arzobispal de la Inmaculada y San Dámaso.
Nueva Tierra and the Movement
Soon after his ordination, in the mid-1970s, he joined a group of young priests of various parishes in Madrid whose shared experience and friendship was dedicated to the education of youth. Theirs was an authentic and true fraternity that was formed by two teachers who met while in seminary and who studied subjects associated with famous figures in Catholic theology such as Guardini, Ratzinger, and Von Balthasar. This entity came to be known as Nueva Tierra and it led to the formation of an association for youth. Then in 1982, Nueva Tierra came to know of CL, which had been present in Spain for some time. Some years later, Carrón met Fr. Giussani in person. In 1985, Nueva Tierra merged with Communion and Liberation. (cfr. “Noi siamo quel che siete voi,” [We are what you are] Tracce n.8/2010). With time, the friendship between the two priests grew stronger. This bond took a new form when, in 2004, Carrón moved to Milan at the request of Fr. Giussani to share the responsibility of leading the Movement.
