Fourteen Diocesan Priests Celebrating Significant Jubilees in 2021
June 17, 2021
Congratulations to the priest jubilarians of the Diocese of Rockford
who are celebrating 10, 25, 50 or more years of priesthood!
Msgr. Thomas Dempsey Celebrates 60th Jubilee
Born in Chicago, Msgr. Thomas Dempsey attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, the Sacred Heart College in Geneva (1954-1955) followed by St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore (1955-1957). He graduated with a degree in theology from St. Mary Seminary in 1961, and later earned a master of education degree at the University of Notre Dame (1971), and a master of divinity from St. Mary Seminary (1975).
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 27, 1961 by Bishop Loras T. Lane at St. James Church in Rockford. Later, on Jan. 24, 2003, he became a Chaplain of the Holy Father with the title of monsignor.
Msgr. Dempsey’s service began as parochial vicar, at St. Monica Parish, Carpentersville (1961), at St. Mary Parish, DeKalb (1961-1963), at St. James Parish, Rockford (1963-1964), SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Cary (1964-1968) and St. Bernadette Parish, Rockford (1972-1974). He was director of religious education and a faculty member at Marian Central Catholic High School, Woodstock, from June 1972 to July 1974.
He served as pastor of St. Gall Parish in Elburn (1974-1978), at St. Patrick in St. Charles (1978-1993), and was dean of the Elgin Deanery from January 1986 to January 1993. He was pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Hampshire (1993-1994), St. Mary Parish in Elgin (1994-2001), and of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crystal Lake (2001-2006). He was Faithful Friar of the Elgin Deanery Knights of Columbus from February 2000 to September 2006).
Msgr. Dempsey retired on Oct. 1, 2006.
A Mass of Celebration for Msgr. Dempsey’s 60th Ordination Anniversary will be held on July 11 at St. Mary Church in Huntley at 2:30 p.m.
Father Lawrence Urbaniak Celebrates 60 Years of Priesthood
Father Lawrence Urbaniak was born in Buffalo, NY. He attended St. Mary High School in Crystal Lake (1949-1951) and Sacred Heart Mission Seminary in Geneva (1954-1957). He attended college at Sacred Heart (1953-1954) and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein (1954-1961). He later earned a doctorate from Loyola University in counseling and psychology in 1982.
He was ordained by Bishop Loras T. Lane at St. James Church, Rockford, on May 27, 1961.
After ordination, Father Urbaniak served as parochial vicar at four parishes: St Margaret Mary in Algonquin (1961-1963); St. Mary in Aurora (1963-1966); St. Laurence in Elgin (1966-1969); and St. Mary in McHenry (1969-1971).
He taught in the religion departments at Madonna High School, Aurora; St. Edward Central Catholic High School, Elgin; Marian Central Catholic High School, Woodstock; and was administrator at Montini School in McHenry. Additionally, he served two terms as president of the Priests’ Senate in the early 1970s, was in charge of the permanent diaconate program, and he served as clinical counselor for the diocesan Tribunal (1977-1999). He was director of Bishop Lane Retreat House (1971-1984) before becoming pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Hartland (1984-1999).
He retired on July 1, 1999.
Father Donald Ahles Celebrates 50 Years of Priesthood
Born in Rockford, Father Donald Ahles attended Holy Cross High School in LaCrosse, Wis. (1959-1963); Loras College in Dubuque (1963-1967); earned a Masters degree in Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (1971) and graduated with a Masters of Divinity at St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore in 1971.
He was ordained as a priest by Bishop Arthur J. ONeill on May 30, 1971, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford.
Father Ahles began his priestly service as parochial vicar at St. Anne Parish in Dixon (1971-1976), also teaching at Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling (1971-1976), and serving in campus ministry at Sauk Valley College in Dixon (1974-1976).
He then was parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish, Woodstock (1976-1979) and at Christ the Teacher Parish in DeKalb (1979-1982). He served as pastor at Christ the Teacher (1982-1988) and was Diocesan Director of Campus Ministry (1980-1988).
He served as pastor at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Cary (1988-2003). After a three month leave of absence for health, he began service as administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Freeport (2003-2004). He was pastor at St. Mary Parish in Sterling (2004-2012) and also administrator of St. Mary Parish in Tampico (2004-2006).
Father Ahles served as diocesan consultor (2005-2014) and parish priest consultor (2009-2015 and into a second term). He was pastor of St. Catherine of Genoa Parish in Genoa (2012-2017) and served also during those years as Vicar Forane (Dean) of the DeKalb Deanery. He was an Ex-Officio on the United in Faith Committee (2013-2017), and administrator of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Sandwich (2016-2017).
He retired June 1, 2017.
Canon Stanislaw Kos Celebrates 25 Years
Canon Stanislaw Kos was born in Jurkowice, Poland, attending Lyceum High School, Oblates of Mary Immaculate (college) and the University in Poznan, Poland. He studied at the Major Seminary of Oblate Missionaries in Obra, Poland (1967-1970) and at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Mich. (1985-1988). He earned a Masters of Divinity from SS. Cyril and Methodius in 1991.
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas G. Doran on Nov. 30, 1996, at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
Canon Kos served as parochial vicar at St. Edward Parish in Rockford (1996-1999) and at St. Mary Parish in Elgin (1999-2001). He then served as administrator of St. Patrick Parish in Amboy (2001-2003) and then at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Hanover (2003-2004).
He became parochial vicar at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Hanover (2004-2007) and at St. Mary Parish in Elizabeth (2004-2007), and at Holy Trinity Parish in Scales Mound (2004-2017). He was parochial vicar at St. Mary and St. Michael parishes in Galena also (2007-2017).
Canon Kos retired on June 1, 2017.
Father Plutarco Rodriguez Celebrates 25 Years of Priesthood
Father Plutarco Rodriguez was born in Libagon, Southern Leyte in the Philippines.
He studied in the Philippines at St. Ignatius DeLoyola Academy (1977-1981), and Pope Paul the VI Minor Seminary. He then attended college at Sacred Heart Seminary (1984-1987; 1991), and did priestly studies at St. John the Evangelist School of Theology also in his home country (1991-1995).
He was ordained to the priesthood on April 1, 1996, by Bishop Vincente Ataviado at Immaculate Conception Church in Libagon.
His first year of priestly service was as a parochial vicar/associate at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. He then was appointed as rector of a seminary. Following that, he served as pastor of three parishes: St. James the Apostle in Silago, Southern Leyte; Nino De Ibarra Parish in Ibarra, Maasin City, Southern Leyte; and at St. Joseph Parish in Hinundayan, Southern Leyte.
Since coming to Rockford in 2018, Father Rodriguez has served as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Huntley, learning, he says, “so many things” from his fellow priests there. He expresses gratitude to those and other clergy including the bishop who ordained him and Bishop Malloy.
Father Rodriguez is a member of the Singing Priests of the Diocese, who, he says, call themselves “Blessings in These Guys.”
Father Andrew Mulcahey Celebrates 25th Jubilee
Born in Rockford, Father Andrew Mulcahey attended Boylan Central Catholic High School (1976-1980), Michigan Tech University (1980-1984 and 1985-1986), and Legion Seminary in Salamanca, Spain (1988-1989). He did his priestly studies at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1990-1992) and Pontifical Anthenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome (1994-1995).
He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on Dec. 22, 1996, by Cardinal Angelo Sodano. He was a priest of the Legions of Christ (Legionaries).
He began service in the Diocese of Rockford as a parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish in Rockford (2010-2012). He became administrator (2012-2014) and then pastor (2014 to present) at St. Laurence Parish in Elgin. He has served as spiritual director for the Elgin Deanery Council of Catholic Women since 2019.
Father Max Striedl Celebrates 25th Jubilee of Priesthood
Born in Batavia, Father Max Striedl was a parishioner at Holy Cross Parish, and graduated from Batavia High School (1979-1983), Purdue University (1983-1987), and did priesthood studies at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein (1992-1996).
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas G. Doran on May 25, 1996, at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
He began his service as a parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish in Rockford and a part-time teacher at Boylan Central Catholic High School (1996-2000). He also began service as associate diocesan Scout Chaplain in 1996.
He then began service as assistant principal and director of religious education at St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin (2000-2002), then served as superintendent and principal there (2002-2006). He also provided clergy assistance at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in West Dundee (2000-2006), becoming also assistant spiritual director for the Rockford Cursillo Movement in 2002.
He then served as a parochial vicar at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Crystal Lake (2006-2007) and then at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Cary (2007-2008). From there he became first administrator (2008-2013) and then pastor (2013-2014) at St. Joseph Parish in Lena; St. Ann in Warren and St. Joseph in Apple River.
He was pastor at St. Mary Parish in Huntley (2014-2020) and became pastor at St. Gall Parish in Elburn in July, 2020.
Father William Vallejo Celebrates 25 Years
Father William Vallejo was born in Bogota, Colombia and attended Instituto Tecnico Industrial Poloto there (1979-1984), then the Archdiocesan Major Seminary San Jose (1986-1988) before beginning theology studies at the Archdiocesan Major Seminary Santa Rosa de Lima in Caracas, Venezuela (1991-1995).
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Freddy Fuenmayor in Los Teques, Venezuela, on Oct. 12, 1996.
He began service in the Diocese of Rockford as parochial vicar at St. Nicholas Parish in Aurora for several months in 2008. He then served in that position at St. Patrick Parish in Rochelle (2008-2013), later becoming administrator there for a few months. He also served as spiritual director for Cursillo (2016-2017).
He served as administrator at St. Edward Parish in Rockford (2013-2014) and then was pastor (2014-2020), before taking a medical leave.
He is now parochial vicar at St. Monica Parish in Carpentersville.
Father Jonathan Bakkelund Celebrates 10 Years of Priesthood
Father Jonathan Bakkelund’s education spans from Harlem High School in Machesney Park (1998-2002), then Marquette University in Milwaukee (2002-2006), then the Pontifical North American College in Rome (2006-2009 and 2010-2011) where he earned an STB (Bachelor of Sacred Theology) and a Master of Divinity degree in Dogma. He earned an STL (Licentiate of Sacred Theology) in 2015 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein.
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 2011, by Bishop Thomas G. Doran at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford.
He began his priesthood service as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Huntley (2011-2015), also teaching part-time at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock (2011-2013). He was also Associate Master of Ceremonies for the diocese (2012-2014), and studied part-time at Mundelein for his STL (2013-2015), completing further studies there (2015-2016) while assisting on weekends at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crystal Lake.
He became administrator (2016-2017) and then pastor (2017 to the present) of St. Peter Parish in Geneva.
From 2014 to the present, Father Bakkelund has served as Diocesan Director of Divine Worshop and Master of Ceremonies. He also has been serving as chaplain of the Knights of Columbus Marquette Assembly 188 since 2017.
Father Christopher DiTomo: 10 Years
Father Christopher DiTomo attended Lake Park High School in Roselle (1991-1995), then Illinois Wesleyan University (1995-1996), and the University of Illinois-Urbana where he studied anthropology and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999.
He studied philosophy at St. Louis University and Northern Illinois University, then studied theology at the Pontifical University in Rome (2002-2004) and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein (2009-2011).
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 2011, by Bishop Thomas G. Doran at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford.
Father DiTomo began his priestly service as parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crystal Lake (2011-2013), also teaching part-time at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock (2011-2012). He then was parochial vicar at St. Bridget Parish in Loves Park (2013-2016), then became administrator of St. Gall Parish in Elburn (2016-2017), and its pastor in 2017-2020). He was Vicar Forane (dean) of the DeKalb Deanery (2019-2020).
He became pastor of St. Mary Parish in Huntley in 2020 and continues to serve in that position. His other areas of service have been or continue to include: Chaplain, KC Council 4330; Priests’ Health Committee; and the Diocesan Finance Council.
Father Joseph Jaskierny Celebrates 10 Years of Priesthood in 2021
Born in Aurora, Father Joseph Jaskierny attended Kaneville High School (1996-2000), Loyola University in Chicago (2000-2004), the University of Notre Dame (2004-2006), and he studied theology at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. (2006-2007) and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis 2007-2011). He later earned a JCL (Licentiate in Canon Law) at Catholic University of America (2017).
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 2011, by Bishop Thomas G. Doran at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
He began his priestly service as parochial vicar at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Cary (2011-2014), also teaching part-time at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock. He also was Associate Master of Ceremonies for the diocese (2013-2015).
He then served as parochial vicar for Holy Family Parish in Rockford (2014-2015) before beginning full-time Canon Law studies at CUA in Washington DC (2015-2017).
Upon his return, Father Jaskierny was administrator (2017-2018) and then pastor (2018-2020) at St. Mary Parish in Pecatonica, all while working at the Diocesan Tribunal from 2017 to the present as Adjutant Judicial Vicar, Defender of the Bond and Advocate. He now serves full time as Adjutant Judicial Vicar at the Diocesan Tribunal.
Father Keith Romke: 10 Years of Priesthood
Father Keith Romke was born in Elgin and attended Larkin High School there (1999-2003), and college at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. (2003-2007) where he began studies for the priesthood. He studied theology at Pontifical North American College in Rome (2007-2011).
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas G. Doran on May 21, 2011, at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
Father Romke served first as parochial vicar at Holy Cross Parish in Batavia (2011-2013) and taught part-time at Aurora Central Catholic High School (2011-2013).
He became Director of Vocations (2013-2018), serving in that position and also as parochial vicar at St. Bridget Parish in Loves Park (2013-2015), and then as administrator at St. Patrick Parish in Dixon (2017-2018). In 2017 he also began service as chaplain of K.C. Council 690 in Dixon.
He became pastor at St. Patrick, Dixon in 2018. He began service this month as pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crystal Lake.
Father Johnson Lopez: 10 Years of Priesthood
Born in Arauca, Colombia, Father Johnson Lopez attended high school in Fortul, Arauca (1995-2000) and studied with the Congregation of St. Charles Borromeo (the Scalabrinians) at the University of San Buenaventura/Seminary Scalabrini in Bogota, Colombia (2001-2005). He then briefly attended Rockford College (2006) before studies at the University of Lincoln in Nebraska (2006-2007) and at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. (2006-2007) and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis (2007-2008).
He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas G. Doran on May 21, 2011, at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
His first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Woodstock (2011-2014), teaching part-time at Marian Central Catholic High School (2012-2014). He served as Associate Master of Ceremonies for the diocese (2012-2017).
Father Lopez became the administrator (2014-2015) and then pastor (2015-2017) at St. Patrick Parish in Rochelle before taking a few months’ leave of absence in 2017. He then served as parochial vicar at Church of Holy Apostles in McHenry (2017-2019), then became administrator (2019-2020) and then pastor at St. Edward Parish in Rockford, where he continues to serve.
Father Adalberto Sanchez Celebrates 10 Years of Priesthood
Father Adalberto Sanchez was born in San Jose De Las Flores, Oaxaca, Mexico. He attended college at Universidad Rafael Landisar, Guatemala City (2000-2002) and Universidad Intercontinental, Mexico City (2003-2006).
He completed priesthood studies at St. Paul School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minn. (2008-2011).
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 2011, at the Cathedral of St. Peter by Bishop Thomas G. Doran.
Father Sanchez has served as parochial vicar at several parishes: St. Joseph Parish in Elgin (2011-2013), St. Mary in Sterling (2013-2018), St. Rita of Cascia, Aurora (2018-2020) and now at St. Mary Parish in Woodstock (2020 to the present).
He also taught part-time at St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin (2011-2013) and has been spiritual director for the Hispanic Catholic Marriage Encounter (2016 to the present).
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