Priest revered to his ministry to Hispanic faithful

The Rev. Raphael Orozco was a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago, but to Spanish-speaking residents of the Northwest suburbs, he was a missionary.

Fr. Orozco passed away Sunday, Dec. 21, of complications from kidney cancer. He was 85.

In 1961, Fr. Orozco was assigned by Cardinal Albert Meyer to go out and minister to the needs of Hispanic farm workers throughout the suburban region.

Using the old church at 35 W. Wood St. in Palatine that originally served as St. Theresa's Church, he started a mission called Santa Teresita. One of the first religious icons he hung was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico.

"At the time, it was the only church that had Mass in Spanish," says Gracilea Vargas of Palatine. "Fr. Ralph didn't have a car, so he used to walk to the different farms to let them know that there was a Mass in Spanish."

Word spread quickly about the little church in downtown Palatine that served the growing Spanish-speaking population, she says.

As more worshippers came, they stood outside the church and in the basement to hear Mass.

Acquaintances say Fr. Orozco always thought of Santa Teresita as a mission and not a parish, since it drew worshippers from throughout the region. People came from as far as Mundelein, Carpentersville, Bensenville and Evanston.

The Rev. Edward Fialkowski, now pastor at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Arlington Heights, remembers his years as an assistant pastor at St. Theresa's Church, and working with Fr. Orozco.

"He really was at the forefront of that ministry," Fialkowski says. "But while he originally set out to minister to the needs of the seasonal workers, when I worked with him, most of the parishioners lived and worked in the area, year round."

In 1971, Fr. Orozco realized one of his dreams when he opened the Santa Teresita Child Development Center, which offered a combination of day care and religious education services to young children.

Working in partnership with Sr. Rosita Valentino, Fr. Orozco rose early in the morning to begin picking children up. At one time the center was at the Palatine police station, before being relocated to the Palatine Township building.

It remained open long after Fr. Orozco retired in 1993, and only closed at the end of last year, as his health deteriorated.

After Fr. Orozco retired, the church building was razed and the Palatine Park District purchased the property. Worshippers relocated to the former Scandinavian Club in Arlington Heights, establishing their new church under the name, Mission San Juan Diego.

The Archdiocese of Chicago recognized it as a parish in 1997.

"He was our spiritual guide," Vargas added. "He was not just our priest, he was our father."

Fr. Orozco came with his family to Chicago from Mexico in 1927. According to his niece, Mary Maureen Gentile of Oakbrook Terrace, they were the only Mexican family in their South Side neighborhood, which drew mostly Irish families. Fr. Orozco studied for the priesthood at Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein before being ordained in 1950. The next year, his only sister entered the Cloistered Poor Clare Nuns in downstate Belleville, under the name Sr. Mary Immaculate.

Visitation for Fr. Orozco will be held from 3-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26, at Ahlgrim Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Hwy. in Palatine. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, at St. James Church, 134 North Ave. in Highwood.

Bishop Thad Jakubowski, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago and a classmate of Fr. Orozco, will officiate, while Deacon Miguel Vargas, of Mission San Jan Diego in Arlington Heights, will deliver the homily.