FATHER Ariel Valencia is a jack-of-all-trades.
Currently the Associate Pastor at St. Rita Catholic Church in Rockford, Illinois, Father Valencia has worn many hats and filled many capacities for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. He has taught and served as an assistant principal for a local catholic high school, served as pastor in several churches and worked as a parochial administrator.
Born in 1976 in San Fernando Pampanga, Philippines, Fr. Valencia grew up in Quezon City. He attended Mount St. Aloysius College Seminary in Calauag Quezon and taught at a local high school before continuing his studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. At Mount St. Mary’s he earned a Master’s Degree in Divinity and an MA in Sacred Scriptures, according to his bio.
Bishop Thomas Doran, the eighth and current bishop for Rockford ordained Valencia on May 17, 2003.
In his first capacity after ordination, Fr. Valencia served as parochial vicar at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Algonquin and taught sophomores at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock. In 2007, He served a year as parochial vicar at St. James Parish in Belvidere before becoming parochial administrator at St. John the Baptist Parish in Somonauk. One year later, he became pastor of St. Mary and St. Joseph parishes in Freeport, and assistant principal of Aquin Central Catholic High School.
In 2009 and 2010, Fr. Valencia then went on to serve as pastor at St. Monica Parish before serving in his current role as Associate Pastor at St. Rita Catholic Church.
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