Rev. Msgr. Arthur F. Valenzano
Deceased: 2015-09-05
Diocese: BALTIMORE
ICTE Spring: 2006
Reverend Monsignor Arthur Francis Valenzano, P.A., passed away at his residence at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Baltimore, on Sept. 5, 2015. He was the second of three sons, born to Arthus A. and Amelia Taccino Valenzano of Eckhart Mines. He was born on March 12, 1949. He graduated from St. Michael’s Parish school in 1963, and then entered St. Charles College High School in Catonsville, graduating in 1967. He continued his seminary education at St. Charles College and then at St. Mary’s Seminary College, where he was awarded an A.B. degree in philosophy in 1971. He completed his priestly formation at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park and received his Masters of Divinity degree from that institution prior to his ordination in 1975. Monsignor Valenzano was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II, with the title Monsignor in March 1996. At that time, he was the youngest monsignor in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Monsignor Valenzano is well-known as one of the most respected and beloved priests among the Presbyterate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Father Joseph O’Meara, a close friend, indicated that Msgr. Valenzano “was one of the best preachers I’ve ever heard, especially when it came to giving daily homilies…there was always some little story with it that you would take with you into your day…” He always had a positive personality, even during those times when he suffered from health challenges. He was devoted to the pastoral care of his people, whether serving at St. John’s in Westminster, or at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is survived by his brother, John; and sister-in-law, Linda; and his brother, Francis; his nephew Mark and his wife, Tammy; and nephew, Tony; and his grandnephew, Luca; grandniece, Sophia; an uncle, Francis Taccino and wife, Doris, of Frostburg; and an aunt, Mary Taccino of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and numerous cousins. Interment was at St. Michael’s cemetery along side his parents in Frostburg.
