Seminarian proclaims his personal pro-life story

Dominic Jasti held an intriguing sign at the recent Nebraska Walk for Life: “A nun saved me from abortion; now I’m studying to be a priest.”

The seminarian with the Diocese of Lincoln shared the story behind the sign:

Jasti was born in India and raised by an observant Hindu family. His mother was just 18 when she was married. Soon she became pregnant.

The young woman dreamed of being an actress and figured her pregnancy would hinder her. So she went to the nearest hospital for an abortion.

Fortunately, the hospital was Catholic.

A religious sister, who was a doctor, advised the pregnant mother to come back to the hospital in a month, presumably to give her time to think about her decision.

So the mother complied and returned in a month. But by then it was legally too late for an abortion.

It appeared that the nun had tricked her.

The mother may have initially been frustrated or angry, but more than 20 years later, she and her son are grateful.

“God bless her!” Jasti said of the sister. “I’m very, very glad she did that. If not for her, I wouldn’t be in this world.

“When I was born, my mom fell instantly in love with me. She loves me so much.”

He later tried to find the sister who saved his life, to no avail. She may have died, Jasti said, but he is eternally grateful to her.

She was his first encounter with the Catholic faith. Other experiences over the years would lead him, his mother and his maternal grandmother to be baptized together in 2016.

Even before his baptism, Jasti had felt a calling to the priesthood.

“When I was 10 or 11, I thought nothing’s more beautiful than proclaiming Him, making Him known to the world,” the seminarian said.

From an early age, “my mom always taught me you have to give your whole life to God … So that made me say: ‘Lord, if you are the truth, I wish to give my entire life serving you.” 

When Jasti was 16 and he and his mother were at a pro-life seminar, she admitted to her son her plan to abort him. Through God’s grace, that plan fell through.

Now he takes joy in telling his story.

“The Catholic Church is the reason I’m in the world,” the seminarian said. “I owe my existence to her. The Catholic Church is my literal mother. … She saved me.”