On the eve of a milestone anniversary —50 years of marriage to Laura— Pedro del Aguila decided that now is the time to tell his story.
“It is true that we have a story to tell, many people tell their stories every day, but I have always chosen to remain silent, preferring service to mankind without feeling a need to define who I am or what I am doing,” said del Aguila. The native of Peru and parishioner of Good Shepherd Parish in Alexandria gathered with his family to celebrated 50 years of marriage.
With lucid detail and a kindly manner, del Aguila tells of his arrival in Washington, D.C., in 1960 at the age of 30, filled with a sense of adventure and the idea that he would like to work for a medical laboratory. When he left Peru, he had been working as a laboratory technician for the Institute of Occupational Health, and had spent some time teaching English.
“But when I arrived in this country, I found that I understood almost nothing, and this new situation was very difficult,” he said.
At the time there was no Latino community. The only Latinos were those serving with the diplomatic corps or international institutions. Although some small groups in Washington had begun to form, even the word Hispanic or Latino didn’t exist.
“Spanish was spoken no where. There were only two or three Latino restaurants. In those times, we, Latinos, had no value in the market. To say that you were a Latino meant that you were nothing,” remembered del Aguila.
Like most immigrants, he worked in restaurants, stores, even in a bar at night. Long hours of work kept him away from his wife and two children, Eveling and Rafael, who had joined him in 1961. They now have five children.
He also despised many aspects of “night life,” which contrasted so with the ideals of the Catholic faith he had cherished since childhood.
“I have always felt God’s presence. My grandmother took me with her to her parish. I was immensely happy in church. I have always considered a consecrated life. I think I would have been a good priest,” said del Aguila, who even now dreams of becoming a deacon.
“I’m afraid that now it is too late,” he said.
The young couple lived for years in Washington and Maryland and attended Mass at St. Matthew Cathedral in Washington.
“I understood almost nothing since it was all in English,” said his wife, Laura.
But lack of language skills didn’t interfere with their emotional involvement and as such the sanctuary was the one place language was of little consequence.
When the family moved to Virginia in 1964 they sought out other Latino congregants and discovered that there were even fewer than in Washington. The then Richmond Diocese had no Mass in Spanish.
Little by little they made friends with other Latinos and from this small group came the idea of organizing a Spanish-language Mass.
Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria offered a basement and Father José Somoza, a Cuban, celebrated Sunday Mass, attended by a dozen people.
The year was 1964. By now, del Aguila had polished his English, although as he readily admits, he still had “a strong accent. Very Peruvian. But I wrote very well, I wrote without an accent.”
By this point he was working in a bank and had set the goal of becoming a bank manager. He mentioned his desire for advancement to his manager.
“Are you crazy, Pedro? How could you possibly hope to be a manager without a degree and citizenship?” the manager asked.
“You are right,” del Aguila replied. “I need a degree and I need my citizenship. Tomorrow I begin my efforts to obtain both and when I’m ready I’ll be back to take your job.”
And that’s how things turned out. Completing courses in business administration, del Aguila rose through the ranks of the bank became the manager.
“My first official task was to re-write the bank’s policies and operating procedures. The bank gave me two weeks to do the job and I did. Written in English without an accent.”
Years later he worked as a tax collector in Alexandria, and continued his involvement in St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, organizing a charismatic group and counseling sick people in clinics and homes.
He also became a Knight of Columbus and with this group continued his missionary work in Peru and Honduras, building houses and clinics.
Five years ago, he said they gathered 12,000 tons of medical equipment and medicine to be sent to Peru.
“Unfortunately, the Peruvian government declined the help. So we sent everything to Afghanistan,” he said.
Among other non-profit groups in Northern Virginia, he helped establish Hogar Hispano, Bienvenidos y Progreso Hispano. The latter was organized by his current parish, Good Shepherd.  
“God gave me the honor of being at the beginning of many social and religious projects,” he said.
Del Aguila retired in 2000. Since then he has spent more time at his parish, teaching the Bible. He also helps those in need here and abroad. For the last 10 years, his own house has been a center where Latino families and friends gather for counseling, or for breakfast or dinner.
Recently he received accreditation from Fairfax County to visit prisoners, particularly Latinos.
“At 77, I can say that God gave me a wonderful family, a wonderful life. Only one thing is missing — my dream of being a consecrated man,” he said.

Alfonso Aguilar can be reached at aaguilar@catholicherald.com.

(c) Copyright 2007 by Arlington Catholic Herald