Interview on February 25, 2025, with José, who is an alumnus, on the Upper Quad in front of the Student Union at Rio Hondo College in Whittier.

Are you a student here?

José: No, I’m a former student here on this campus. In 2015 I transferred to Long Beach State. I graduated here with an AA degree and I graduated from Long Beach State in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies. I’m just here to proclaim the gospel and the way that I’m proclaiming the gospel is lifting my voice and just reaching to the students on campus.

Do you consider yourself religious?

José: I do consider myself religious, but I believe as a Roman Catholic that it’s not about religion, but it’s about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Were you raised that way or did you have a conversion experience?

José: I was raised Roman Catholic.

Have any students stopped to talk to you while you’re preaching?

José: I haven’t had any students stop and talk to me or ask me questions. That is my hope that students will stop and talk, by them listening to the preaching.

If a student asked why you believe the Bible is true, what would you say?

José: I believe the Bible is true because we have factual, secular sources that say that what the Bible says took place and the time when Christ was alive is factual. True. For example, we have people like Josephus who actually states that the Bible is factually true and historically true.

What if a student asked how you can believe the Bible when it talks about miracles and we don’t see miracles today. Doesn’t that seem unreasonable?

José: Just because they don’t see any miracles happening doesn’t mean that the miracles aren’t taking place either in this country or around the world. It could just be that they’re so unbelieving that God is not going to do a miracle just because they want to see it. God will do a miracle in His own time. People, in general, want to put God in a box and we need to illustrate that God is not going to do something just to please them or just because they want to see if God does exist or not.

Why do you believe that God exists?

José: I believe there’s a God because I believe that 2000 years ago we had an actual Man Who actually walked amongst us Who was a carpenter. And He has done tremendous inspiration in my life. It could be that others don’t believe that because they haven’t taken inspiration from that, but for me personally, I don’t know where I would be without believing in God or believing in Christ.

The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong. Do you agree with that?

José: Yes.

How would you respond to a student who said it’s a woman’s body and a woman’s choice?

José: Well, to start off, it’s not actually her body. Her body actually belongs to God. After all, a woman can’t claim that it’s her body, her choice, because she herself came out of the womb of her own mother. So she’s a part of what God made her.

Why do you take the time to come and preach to the students?

José: I take the time to preach because I was inspired by the Holy Spirit and was led by the Holy Spirit to lift up my voice like a trumpet and preach on campus. Now, you don’t normally find a Catholic Christian lifting the voice up like a trumpet and preaching, because Catholics are not really well known for that. People who are born-again Christians or “Bible thumpers” tend to openly preach on college campuses. But I was led by the Holy Spirit, so I like to tell people that I’m not just your ordinary or average Catholic.