Our parish community welcomes Father Alden Sison as our new Pastor on July 1, 2021. 

Father Alden was born in the Philippines, the second of five brothers.  With his brothers, he immigrated to the United States in 1972 at the age of twelve; their parents had immigrated a few year earlier.

Father Alden  went to Saint John Seminary College in 1982 and graduated with a degree in Philosophy four years later.  After that, he went on to Saint John Seminary to study Theology earning dual degrees as Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Religious Studies.  His particular interest is in spiritual theology as applied in pastoral ministry.

After completing his studies and training, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1987.  Since then, he has served in various parishes.  Three of them in the San Fernando Valley:  Associate Pastor at Saint Bernardine of Sienna in Woodland Hills; Pastor of Our Lady of the Valley in Canoga Park; and Saint Genevive in Panorama City.

As Pastor of Saint Genevieve Parish, he oversaw significant growth with over 5000 families.  As Pastor of the large urban parish, Father Alden is known for his work with immigrant communities, particularly Latinos, Filipinos, and Ugandans. He developed ministries and programs that addressed the diversity of the parish while striving for a unified community.

A point of pride and joy of Saint Genevieve is its sizeable elementary school and a high school. They merged with Father Alden's leadership to form one continuous educational journey from preschool through ninth grade providing Catholic education to 1600 students.

Before he left Saint Genevieve in 2020, he initiated a major capital campaign to build a new parish ministry center and a performing arts center.  When the pandemic hit, they were moving toward breaking ground with $28M pledged or collected.  Father Alden left Saint Genevieve in 2020 after completing two terms as Pastor, twelve years in all.  

With a rich pastoral experience, Father Alden comes to Saint Euphrasia with great enthusiasm.  "Starting a new assignment is always exciting," he says.  "Coming in at a time of the pandemic makes it challenging.  But with God's help and working together, we can work through this together."

"I feel welcome here at Saint Euphrasia, and I'm happy to be here!"