Fr. Xavier Colleoni, 95-years old, celebrated his 70th ordination anniversary on June 7, 2022.
Fr. Xavier Colleoni was born in Bergamo, Italy in 1927. For 70 years he has been a faithful Comboni Missionary. He currently resides at Holy Cross Parish in Los Angeles assisting with pastoral ministry among the Latino community.
He first came to the United States in 1948 as a seminarian. After his ordination in 1952, Fr. Colleoni taught Latin at Sacred Heart Seminary in Cincinnati. He has served in parishes throughout the United States, mainly in California. For more than 25 years Fr. Colleoni has served at Holy Cross Parish in Los Angeles. During his time there the parish has grown significantly, at times having up to 10 masses with 9 of them in Spanish.
Besides his pastoral work, Fr. Xavier used to make candles. This started out as a hobby. A local businessman used wax for his business and donated the extra wax to the mission. Fr. Xavier now lives a mostly quiet, retired life but helps out when he can. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he celebrated Mass online several times per week. Happy anniversary Fr. Xavier!
