About two thousand came for a mass at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Pasadena. It is a workday, at 10am. You would think few would come, but thousands did. It felt like a royalty is being buried. Valentino was, a servant so loyal to God, he was called home so early in his life.
Valentino Creus was my accountant, at least a decade, after his firm bought out Nitchman, a boutique accounting firm years ago. During the pandemic, their offices expanded three times in size, taking over an entire wing of the building in Burbank.
A month ago, in May 2025, Val saw me at his firm, where he was a partner. He asked me to sit with him in their conference room.
We exchanged stories about the miracles we had witnessed in our lives. Two hours have passed and we are still quite engaged in storytelling.
He then told me that I had spent decades preparing to have a home here on earth. How about investing in your eternity home in heaven, he challenged me? That question was so unusual for an accountant into precise numbers.
I later learned from friends that he lived in the Windsor House as one of the numeraries of Opus Dei, a lay person that works full time but dedicates his life to serving God.
His funeral service was officiated by Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez and 14 other priests. A beautiful acapella choir accompanied him.
But it was the homily of Fr. Luke Mata which touched me. How Val Creus is relentless in living his faith and connecting his faith with family and others. How he is undeterred in negotiating the best price in buying Fr. Luke’s car, negotiating a priest’s discount including a birthday discount for Fr. Luke, all of which were granted.
I wish I had known him more. But, his life’s examples are just getting known.
“He was instrumental in the development of the “Ahead Leadership Program,” a high school mentoring program which has operated there for more than 25 years. Through his work with the fathers and their sons in the Ahead program, Val influenced the lives of hundreds of young Angelinos in their faith, family and professional endeavors. From the year 2012, he lived at Windsor House, a center of Opus Dei in the Windsor Village area that provides formational education and mentoring opportunities for married men.
Val was cheerful and had a capacity to make those around him laugh. He was very attentive to the needs of others: anything and anytime you asked him for his help, he responded right away with his utmost ingenuity.”- Source: Angeles News
Archbishop Jose Gomez exhorted us to call on Val to intercede for what we need. Even Fr. Luke Mata echoed that as now, Val will relentlessly pray with and for us, when called to do so. In one of the news stories, one of the priests asserted that these three men are “canonizable.”
Val, please lift our sister Rina Bentajado and intercede for us for her full measure of healing. – Thank you so much! The next evening, Rina passed away surrounded by family, two priests and a doctor, with such a broad smile, ready for her home in eternity.
Val’s death carries significance as Opus Dei has had difficulty attracting folks to the organization, given the false narratives circulating about it: secretive, corrupt, and more.
Now, with his life of devotion to Mama Mary aka Mother of Fairest Love, a statue was built in St. Louise de Marillac Church in Covina, given Val’s devotion and commitment to raise funds and to take home smaller statues to reach every family in the parish and every diocese in the US.
Two days before he died, he texted a photo of that statue to his sister. Might it now be our challenge to execute this vision, Val’s goal to reach every family?
“Opus Dei, which means “Work of God” in Latin, was founded in 1928 by a Spanish priest, St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975), to try to help laypeople — people who aren’t priests, deacons, religious brothers or nuns — become holy through their ordinary work.” Source: NCRegister
Trust in her fairest, unconditional love!
Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D.
Features/Opinion-Editorial Writer, Asian Journal/Balikbayan Magazine, 2008 to present
Former Commissioner, L.A.City Civil Service Commission and Convention Center, 2005-2008
“Courage is the essence of faith. Only the brave can have faith. A wise person is willing to fight his battles within himself. He eventually becomes established in a higher state of mind.“ Swami Ashokananda
“To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that comes from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and our weaknesses – that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things.“ Pablo Neruda, Childhood and Poverty
“The writer cannot be a mere storyteller, he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society’s weaknesses, its ills, its perils, he or she must be actively involved shaping its present and its future.” Saro-Wiwa
