The Augustinian Recollect Bishop Alfonso Gallegos, died on October 6, 1991 in Sacramento, USA.
The diocesan process for his canonization started on the 4th of December 2005 and ended on the 4th of November of the following year at the Cathedral of Sacramento, California. Numerous testimonies of those who knew Monsignor Gallegos, were gathered from Diocese of Los Angeles, where he was a parish priest, and from New York, where he completed his formation and exercised the first few years of his priesthood.
The next step of the process is the so-called “Positio super virtutibus,” an elaborate document under the direction of a relator designated by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
He exerted effort, moved by his love for God, to cope with the demands of religious life and priesthood. Profile of Mons. Gallegos
Alfonso Gallegos Apocada was born in Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States) on the 20th of February 1931. Since his childhood, he suffered severe myopia that made reading for him very difficult. He exerted effort, moved by his love for God, to cope with the demands of religious life and priesthood. Great part of his ministry was dedicated to the education of the youth and creation of alternative programs to the dangerous group that the youth formed. Because of his pastoral dedication, he was named as the first director of the Office of Hispanic Affairs of California.
On November 4, 1981, he was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento. Bishop Gallegos is known for his joyfulness, patience by which he was able to live with his eye-problem, kindness and affection to everyone, including those who did not favor his pastoral work. His spiritual life is also marked by intense prayer and commitment to the poor and needy, specially to the Hispanic migrants who were looking for a better future in the United States. Bishop Gallegos died in a traffic accident at the age of 60.