Francisco González Valer

Francisco González Valer, S.F. (May 22, 1939 – March 4, 2024) was a Spanish-born prelate of the Catholic Church in the United States. González served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2014.

Biography

Early life One of five children, Francisco González Valer was born on May 22, 1939, in Arcos de Jalón in the province of Soria, Spain. He had a brother and sister who are both members of Catholic religious orders in Spain. González entered the Seminario Misional de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 1951, and took his final vows in the religious congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family (SF) in 1960.

In 1966, González became a teacher at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, Maryland, serving there until 1971. González then held pastoral assignments in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, also serving as advocate and pro-synodal judge at the archdiocesan marriage tribunal. In 1975, González returned to Spain to teach and perform pastoral work for a year. In 1982, after returning to the United States, the SF assigned González as pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Greeley, Colorado, serving there until 1983.

González died in Barcelona, Spain, on March 4, 2024, at age 84.