THOMASIAN priest-engineer Msgr. Daniel Sta. Maria of the Diocese of Cubao passed away on Feb. 25. He was 78.
Sta. Maria died following cardiac arrest at 5:59 a.m. at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, a representative of the diocese told the Varsitarian.
In 1974, Sta. Maria obtained his chemical engineering degree, summa cum laude, from UST.
He completed two master’s degrees—one in chemical engineering and one in business administration—at Clarkson University in New York and University of Cincinnati in Ohio, respectively.
In Cincinnati, he worked for the multinational consumer products company Procter and Gamble.
After studying and working in the US, Sta. Maria entered the San Jose Seminary in 1986 and later on, the San Carlos Seminary. He was ordained priest on Aug. 23, 1986.
Sta. Maria was assistant parish priest of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish from 1987 to 1989.
From 1987 to 2018, Sta. Maria served as parish priest of the following parishes: Holy Trinity Parish in Quezon City, San Roque Parish in Mandaluyong, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Makati, Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish in Quezon City, Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish in Quezon City and Sta. Rita Parish in Quezon City.
He was also the oeconomus or manager of the trust fund of the Diocese of Cubao and finance officer of the catechetical ministry of the Archdiocese of Manila. He also became the vicar general of the Cubao diocese from 2014 to 2018.
Sta. Maria wrote the books “The Mystery of the Trinity in Christian Life” (1998), “A Day in the Life of a Parish Priest” (1999) and “Another Day in the Life of a Parish Priest” (2015).
He was named a Hall of Fame awardee for community service by the UST Faculty of Engineering in February 2019.
Sta. Maria was the parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Cordillera, Quezon City until his death. Ma. Alena O. Castillo
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