Discernment and Business

Meeting Pedro Cadena: A Catholic Business Owner's Testimony

There is a rich difference among Christian business owner testimonies: people of all ages and backgrounds pursuing holy entrepreneurship.

But there's something special about the testimony of a seminarian turned international business recruiter.

Recently I was able to speak with Pedro Cadena Díaz, co-founder of Servorum, on his background and journey. And what ties his testimony together is the deep obedience to God's call for his life, moment to moment.

He recently shared a summary on LinkedIn:

It's all part of God's plan, and Pedro's testimony shows God's foresight.

Following God's Call

The willingness to give God everything has marked much of Pedro's journey. Pedro has a long relationship with the Legionaries of Christ in Mexico, and after high school, was admitted into the novitiate.

And it wasn't just idle chance that he was accepted and was assigned work in Germany.

"The pool of volunteers was small, and I turned out to have the necessary qualifications, which were a high capability for adaptation and a high capability for learning languages fast and efficiently. And also, the emotional capability of being away from the family for long periods of time. So I turned out to be the ideal candidate."

So began years of discernment and growth. He worked in Germany, the U.S., and Italy. He studied, taught, and served many families in his time with the Legionaries.

But eventually, something changed. He discerned out of seminary and followed another passion.

A Passion for Teaching

"I got my teaching degree in educational sciences, and also started a master's in language pedagogics, which was very interesting, too. I really enjoy languages, apparently, and teaching them, but also being in contact with young people and helping them figure out how to do things in life, how to study, how to recognize real friends, how to face frustration, how to cope with the big emotions and things like that. So I enjoyed my time as a teacher a lot."

His background with the Legionaries helped his skills with languages and relationships flourish. God equipped him for this stage, and he enjoyed it. But when faced with the reality of supporting a future family, he had to make a decision: teaching with low salary, or more financial security.

Entrepreneurship and Family

He has continued to see God's work as he transitioned through several entrepreneurial attempts to his current blossoming business: Servorum.

His younger brother once shared with Pedro this belief: everything is going to be taken care of, because you can't outdo God in generosity, and you gave him your entire life honestly, with your whole heart, so he can't be outdone, outmatched, so he's going to give you more than that back.

Pedro's willingness to give his life to a religious order laid a foundation of extreme trust in God and prudence in life decisions. A skill for travel and adaptability has led to a career of helping business owners and workers find a good fit all around the world, with a goal to support families, the economy, and ultimately demonstrate the Incarnation in every facet of daily life.

Big goals, but Pedro sees the talents God has given him. What does it mean for him to be a Catholic Christian business owner? "It means my standard and final judgment is higher than it was before. That's what it means. It means that I'm supposed to be an example for people who work under me, and for my clients, and for everyone."

And, maybe, one day, he'll go back to teaching philosophy.

Be sure to follow him on LinkedIn and ask him about epistemology and happiness.