Meet Angelina Vallejo
Who is the Spanish Interpreter at Sacred Heart Parish?
Do you know that we have a part-time Spanish Interpreter, and Quinceañera Coordinator, at Sacred Heart Parish? Her name is Angelina Vallejo. If you do not already know her, you may have seen her serving as a Eucharistic Minister, serving food with the Hispanic Ministry at Coffee Café, at the last Sacred Heart Reunion, or praying at Eucharistic Adoration, which she loves. Perhaps you saw her Sunday mornings interpreting or doing paperwork with Debbie Patronagio at Religious Education Classes.
Angelina was born in Michoan, Mexico, a town of about 2,000 people. She has eight sisters and no brothers. She and her family moved to Moline in 1992, when she was about 18 years old, and attended St. Mary’s in Moline. She met her husband, Miguel, here a few years later. She was the proud mother of a dog named Peluche (which means stuffed animal in English), who she considers her first baby. She loved him from when he was a week old until he died 17 years later. As well as her two human children, Nataly, 17 and Nallely, almost 14.
Her hobbies include reading, cooking, baking, and traveling. She and Miguel traveled every year for ten years before their children were born. Most of their travels have been to Mexico, both to her hometown but also vacation spots like Puerto Vallarta and Cancun, which is her favorite.
She began working at Sacred Heart about five years ago when her friend told her that this parish was looking for a Spanish Interpreter. Angelina liked the idea of serving the Church in this way. She also has a full-time job working at Addus HomeCare. After ten years working directly with elderly clients cleaning their homes, she is now the Service Coordinator in the office, although she still likes to visit her former clients.
As for her faith, Angelina grew up Catholic but her family did not attend Mass for a long time. Her next-door neighbor was a priest, however, and he would invite her to Mass every day. To which she would reply: “Maybe tomorrow, Father.” After two years, she started going to the daily 8:00 a.m. Mass with him. Father Salvador Aguilar invited her to a Jornadas De Vida Cristiana weekend like Teens Encounter Christ (TEC). She and about 240 other teens attended. This experience, and the new friends she made, set her faith on fire. She is still friends with all the people she met at that time. She considers Fr. Salvador Aguilar one of her best friends. She admires him greatly and credits him for revitalizing her town, both spiritually and physically in just a two-year time frame.
When you see her next, say “Hola” and have a chat. She is very fascinating!