It was only few days before my ordination when I found out that the   Cardinal had assigned me to Our Lady of Victories. The Vicar General rung my phone as I was coming back to the presbytery of Our Lady and St Catherine, the parish where I was appointed for my diaconate. “I am happy to tell you, Daniel” – he said – “that the cardinal has appointed you to Our Lady of Victories”.  I was indeed very happy and a little surprised too.
 
Since in writing I don’t have an accent that will give me away I will start confessing that I was born in Burgos, a small city in the north of Spain.    I spent most of my teenage years studying hard to get to university to study civil engineering. However, God had a different plan for me.         By the time I started A levels I felt very strongly that God was calling me to the priesthood. I struggled with my vocation for a long time but finally    I decided to join the seminary and in 2007 I was sent to the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation in London.
 
I could hardly speak any English then, so I spent the first two years learning it. After that, I was ready to start my philosophical studies at    Allen Hall Seminary in Chelsea. In 2011 I left for the Holy Land, where     I had a wonderful experience for 10 months, working hard but also      visiting the holy places, getting to know many of the places that are    connected to the Bible and above all looking to have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
After my time in Israel, where I felt that God was confirming my vocation to the priesthood, I was sent for two years to have an experience of    mission in Madagascar. Again, I found myself in a completely new place where I could hardly communicate. However,  I experienced an incredible joy, the one that comes from         announcing the Gospel to the most vulnerable and to see its amazing   power to change people’s lives. In June 2014 the time came for me to     resume my studies so I came back to London.
 
I was ordained deacon in 2017 and about a year later, the 30th of June 2018, I was ordained priest. Now, I hope, and I pray, that in these years ahead the Lord will give me the grace to be able to announce the Gospel with faith, especially to those that are most in need, and to serve you       with all my heart and strength.
Please, remember me in your prayers.
Fr Daniel Herrero Peña.

Following a wonderful summer here in London, which not even the English can moan about, the autumn beckons us with a mixture of beginnings and endings.
September is a month of freshness– a time of new challenges, renewed vigour, and
an opportunity to  appreciate the beauty of nature, as the bright colours of summer give way to the subdued shades of the Fall. For all of this, we give thanks to God, for the beautiful creation He has bestowed upon us, and for the opportunity of loving and serving him, wherever he calls us to be.
On a personal note, I feel fortunate to have been at Our Lady of Victories over the past three years. Thanks also to my fellow clergy and all parishioners for your love, friendship and patience. It has been good to be here, and I am grateful for the many blessings received - the greatest of which is simply to have shared with you in the work of the Gospel.
With my love and prayers,
Fr Daniel