Angelus News | May 31, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 20

Emmanuel Delfin
Age: 50
Hometown: Lomita
Home parish: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Church
First Mass: 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Sunday,
June 2, at St. Margaret Mary
First parish assignment: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Church, Santa Clarita
Favorite hobby: Architecture
VICTOR ALEMÁN
Before finding his vocation, Emmanuel Delfin had to
rack up a few frequent miles first.
Born in the Philippines, his family moved often
between the capital city of Manila and the country. When
he was in the first grade, his family began immigrating to the
U.S., and by the time he finished high school he had lived in
Chicago, Hawaii, and Northern California.
He was brought up Catholic, but during high school Delfin
fell away from the Church.
“Church for me was just going to a Mass and seeing my
peers from high school there,” said Delfin. “Nothing else,
really. That was the basis of my religion and it seemed really
empty — especially seeing that my peers weren’t portraying
the Gospel.”
He eventually pursued architecture school, an adventure
that took him from Switzerland to Los Angeles to New Mexico,
and finally back to LA. He remembered during college
going as far as trying to prove to others that God didn’t exist.
Tragedy struck during his time in New Mexico. He woke
up one morning to find out that a friend had been found
murdered in her car on the side of the freeway. Anguished,
he began to walk in circles around his block, passing a small
chapel each time. Finally, a nun came outside during one of
his rounds and smiling, invited him inside for Benediction.
“So I thought, ‘I’ll give that a try,’ ” Delfin remembered.
Kneeling in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother, Delfin
tried to remember how to pray the rosary as he had seen his
grandmother do. Looking at her face “got me more angry
because she was at peace,” Delfin recalled.
But after praying for the first time in years, something
changed inside Delfin: He described finding peace that day,
even in the death of his friend.
Since entering the seminary, he’s seen his calling as the
answer to a need for priests and the sacraments in the world.
Emmanuel Delfin takes a coffee break selfie with fellow St. Margaret Mary
Alacoque parishioners Sue (left) and Pearl (middle).
“I can’t imagine my life — or anyone else’s life — without
the Eucharist,” said Delfin, whose first parish assignment will
be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Santa Clarita.
“Life is not life without the Eucharist. The world is not real
without it.”
When asked how his own experience might help those who
are struggling or confused — especially young people —
come to know Christ, Delfin said he believes developing a
relationship with Jesus is key.
“With this enthusiasm and great love for God — they’ll
come around,” Delfin said, referring to youth. “They’ll see
there’s great worth in that, and that the world can offer many
things but nothing can compare to that.”
EMMANUEL DELFIN
16 • ANGELUS • May 31, 2019