Fr. Fernando Velasco assigned to Logan parish

Friday, Jun. 10, 2016

(Editor’s note: This is one in a series of profiles of the priests who have been given new assignments as parish administrators in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Appointments that might have been made as “pastor” were made as “administrator” in accordance with canon law when a diocese is without a bishop.)

OREM — Fr. Fernando Velasco will become the parish administrator of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Logan effective Aug. 1; he has served as the parochial vicar of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Orem since 2012. 

“When I first heard about this change, I was taken by surprise,” Fr. Velasco said. “As a priest, I am formed to do what my superiors or the bishop outlines and calls me to do; that is like hearing the voice of God and to follow in the name of Jesus.”

Fr. Velasco was born and raised in San Marcos, El Salvador; he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Santa Ana in 2000 by Bishop Romeo Tovar Astorga. He served in El Salvador for four years, studied in Rome for four years and in 2010 went to the Diocese of San Francisco before coming to Utah. 

Fr. Velasco has developed many friendships at St. Francis of Assisi and he will take many good memories with him when he leaves to fulfill his new responsibilities at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, he said.

“I want to do my very best in my new position. I am grateful to God for this assignment and that God called me to be a priest, that I am able to serve in this diocese,” Fr. Velasco said.

Serving with Fr. David Bittmenn, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, has been a good experience, Fr. Velasco said. “I have served as a pastor in my country, and Fr. Bittmenn has let me put into action my ideas from my pastoral experience mostly working with the Hispanic people. We both work with the English-speaking and the Hispanic communities in this parish.” 

Since the Year of Faith in 2013, Fr. Velasco has been involved in the Summer Institute in the New Evangelization for the Hispanic people in the parish. The course provides leadership formation with content that was created through a partnership of Saint Paul University, Catholic Christian Outreach and Mission of the Redeemer Ministries, according to the website.

The SINE process “is not only a process for the summertime,” he said. “We created small groups in the Hispanic community who have been meeting in their homes to study the Scriptures and reflect on the teachings of the Church for the past three years. We have been preparing and training lay leaders to evangelize, especially in our mission diocese,” Fr. Velasco said. “Our faith is to always have a relationship with Jesus; to let him transform us and recognize that he is our Lord, and to live according to his teachings.”

Among Fr. Velasco’s duties at St. Francis of Assisi have been visiting the sick in the hospital and the homebound. “I try to keep my door open so I am available for those who need to reach me,” he said. “I feel happy when people call because they need my help with a problem. I also like to share the work with others; I like to work as a team.”

“Father Fernando has labored long and diligently to develop the lay leadership especially among the Hispanic community at St. Francis of Assisi Parish,” said Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. “He brings a strong sense of vision and planning to the responsibility he was given for pastoral ministry in a parish, and has demonstrated that he has all the capabilities now of taking on the larger responsibility of being an administrator or pastor, not just an associate. He is charismatic and well-loved by the community he serves, and I predict that the good people of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish will embrace him immediately.”

When Fr. Velasco begins his role at St. Thomas Aquinas, he will serve both the English-speaking and the Hispanic communities, he said. 

“I am happy to have this new experience and to serve the people; I am looking forward to developing new relationships and creating a new family. I am excited for this new assignment,” he said.