A PIECE OF OUR HISTORY AND PRESENT

    Perhaps no other Pastor who has served Saint Bernard’s has traveled a more circuitous route to the Pastorship than Monsignor Ivo D. Rocha. As our thirteenth and longest serving pastor, Monsignor Rocha’s spiritual journey to Saint Bernard’s has literally taken him around the world.

    Born in 1943 on the island of Terceira in the Azores, Monsignor Rocha’s spiritual vocation was greatly inspired by his parents and his devout grandmother. Although he admits to having the heart of a rebel, he channeled his energies for the love of God and entered the seminary at age 10 in the city of Angra.

    Following his Ordination in 1966 he intended to study music in Rome, but met a Bishop who inspired him to volunteer for missionary service in Timor, Indonesia.  For the next three years a very young Father Rocha could be found traveling through the jungle paths on a motorcycle from village to village. He preached, he evangelized, he oversaw schools, coached soccer, foraged food for his Parishioners and completely threw himself into the missionary life.

    Having extended himself so much in the jungle climate, he became ill in 1969 and traveledto California to recuperate.  The Diocese of Stockton took note of his presence and asked him to continue his priestly life at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock. While there he helped build a Portuguese cultural center in 1973, which became the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption in 1981. He served there as Pastor until he was assigned in May 1984 by Bishop Roger Mahoney to replace the late Monsignor Eugene Shea as Pastor at Saint Bernard’s.

    Parishioners at Saint Bernard’s did not know what to make of their new Pastor, in part because every Pastor they’d had since the Parish’s creation in 1908 had been of Irish heritage. Knowing that he had to either sink or swim, Monsignor Rocha threw himself into his work with the gusto of a missionary. In what would become the central theme of his Pastorship at Saint Bernard’s, he constantly challenged his people to not just believe, but to be fully engaged in following Christ with actions & deeds. Being fully conversant in English, Spanish & Portuguese, Monsignor Rocha could evangelize to all the major language groups of the Parish.

    His background of building facilities to meet the needs of the faithful came in handy when he led efforts in renovating the church in 1988 and in the construction of the Our Lady of Fatima Ministry Center that was completed in 1999. The Monsignor Shea Education & Administration was also expanded and renovated during this period and many sections of Saint Bernard’s School were renovated, including a new Kindergarten classroom, Computer Lab, Science Lab, Library & Teachers’ Lounge & Meeting Room.

    Perhaps his and the Parish’s biggest challenge has been the three-phase project of building a new church, school and multipurpose building on 20 acres of land in southwest Tracy. Construction on the first phase, a multipurpose building able to accommodate 2,000, began this past year and will be completed by spring of 2009.

    While building the physical church Monsignor Rocha has also spent much of his energies in renewing the spiritual life of the Parish. He has led efforts to promote stewardship as a way of life and in supporting religious education in all segments of our Parish. A typical Monsignor Rocha homily is a challenge to the faithful to be all that Christ wants them to be.

    In 2007, upon the recommendation of Bishop Steven Blaire, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Father Rocha a Monsignor of the Church. He is only the second Monsignor to serve as Pastor of Saint Bernard’s. As his 43rd year of Priesthood approaches, even though his legacy at Saint Bernard’s is assured, Monsignor Rocha continues to lead his flock with a missionary heart, evangelizing and building while challenging us to walk in Christ’s path.