The Rev. Wilfredo Benitez serves as Rector of Saint Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Garden Grove, CA. He is a native of the Bronx, New York, and the son of Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants.

Fr. Wilfredo is a graduate of the Universidad InterAmericana de Puerto Rico, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree; he is also a graduate of the Bank Street College of Education, in New York City, where he received a Master of Science in Education degree, in Bilingual Counseling. His seminary education was completed at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, where he received a Master of Divinity degree. Prior to becoming a priest at the age of 35, Fr. Wilfredo had a career first as a Community Organizer in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and later as a College Counselor at the City College of New York, C.U.N.Y., and E.M. Hostos Community College, C.U.N.Y.

Fr. Wilfredo was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, in New York City, in 1991. He has been serving Saint Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church since 1993 and is now canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Fr. Wilfredo's own ministerial inclinations lean toward the pastoral, the prophetic, and the mystical. He is a great lover of fine arts, religious art, and folk art. A strong believer in the mind, body, spirit connection, Fr. Wilfredo is also a student of the martial arts, and currently holds a First Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, Korean Karate. Building bridges across ethnic and religious boundaries, is another area of involvement for Fr. Wilfredo.

Fr. Wilfredo feels blessed to serve as Rector of St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church, a parish he describes as very down to earth and very loving.