Fr. Jorge Rocha, Pastor

Fr. Jorge Rocha was born in the Cabo Verde Islands and moved to Providence at the age of 11. He attended Nathan Bishop Middle School and Classical High School. After graduating from Classical, Fr. Jorge attended Franklin Pierce University, where he studied journalism and played on the varsity soccer team. He developed an interest in sports media and worked briefly at UMass Lowell before returning to Rhode Island to pursue a master’s degree and work as a graduate assistant at Providence College. He was offered a position in the athletic department handling media relations and worked at PC for 10 years.

Fr. Rocha entered Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass., in 2012. In 2013, he attended the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. He also served as a seminarian at St. Timothy Parish in Warwick in the summer of 2014. He was ordained a transitional deacon on May 16, 2015 by Bishop Robert Evans at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Providence, his home parish. He then served as a deacon at St. Philip Parish in Greenville, before returning to the Seminary to complete his formation for the priesthood.

On June 25, 2016, Bishop Thomas Tobin ordained Fr. Rocha to the priesthood at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul and was assigned to Saint Francis Xavier as the parochial vicar. In August 2017, Fr. Rocha was named Administrator of St. Francis Xavier, before being named pastor in July of 2018.