The Brazilian seminarian Igor Pavan Tres, known on social media for sharing his testimony of faith during a long illness, passed away on March 6, 2026, at the age of 26 after a prolonged battle against a rare kidney cancer that had been diagnosed in December 2021. Originally from Planalto, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, he belonged to the diocese of Frederico Westphalen and had turned his illness process into a digital apostolate, where he recounted his treatment, his spiritual reflections, and his preparation for the priesthood. For years, he underwent surgeries, chemotherapy, and complex oncological treatments—he even exceeded a hundred sessions—while maintaining an intense spiritual life. Aware of the seriousness of his health condition, the young seminarian published a few days before his death a text that he titled “spiritual testament,” in which he offered his suffering for the Church and asked forgiveness for his sins, entrusting himself to God’s mercy.
This is the text he left written:
“Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” (Ps 30:6)
Feeling the possibility of the outcome and the encounter with the Judge, whose day and hour only He knows, but aware of my health conditions and the weaknesses that accompany me, I decided to write these lines as my spiritual testament.
I know nothing about the time that will still be granted to me. However, I know that life is brief and that each day is a silent preparation to appear before Him who is the Truth.
I offer the cross that has been entrusted to me, with its pains, limitations, and uncertainties, for the Holy Church, for the Holy Father, for the Diocesan Bishop, for the entire clergy, for the conversion of sinners, for those who suffer in body and soul, for the souls in purgatory, and for Christians persecuted in so many parts of the world. I also offer it in reparation for my sins and for the sins of the world.
I know that suffering, by itself, does not automatically sanctify. It can harden or purify. In my weakness, I recognize that many times I was unfaithful. However, I can testify that pain taught me not to remain far from God for long. Like an untamed horse that tries to flee, I was held by the reins by the Lord, who used suffering to prevent my definitive escape. If I remain today, it is by mercy, not by merit.
I ask forgiveness, in a particular and public way, from all those who were affected by my iniquities, words, omissions, or scandals. To those whom I harmed directly or indirectly, I beg them to forgive me. I trust that God will know how to repair what I did not know how or could not repair sufficiently.
I thank my family, who supported me with patient love; my friends, who remained; the health professionals, who cared for me with competence and humanity; and all the benefactors who, in visible or hidden ways, eased my path. Each gesture was an instrument of Providence.
I pray to the Advocate, Most Holy Mary, to shelter me in the decisive hour and intercede for me before her Son. I entrust myself to God’s mercy, the only foundation of my hope.
If I am called, I ask the Lord to grant me eternal rest while I await, in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.
Igor Pavan Tres
February 20, 2026