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Valeria and Acklen Banks will celebrate 30 years of marriage in June. They met in New Orleans in 1977. Into this union was brought one son from Val’s previous marriage, and then four adopted children along the way.

If you ask Valeria and Acklen the reasons for the success of their marriage, they will tell you that they strongly believe in the sacrament of marriage and the healing power of prayer. Their marriage vows and their faith in God has helped to sustain them in times of strife.

They have been members of St. Philip Neri Parish since moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1988 from Fort Worth, Texas. They are now members of Our Lady of Good Hope. Prior to residing in Fort Worth, they lived in Oklahoma City, and before that, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois where Acklen received his Masters Degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois. Acklen is currently employed as a librarian for the Milwaukee Public Library.

In his spare time, he enjoys working out at the YMCA and going to the movies with his family.

Valeria is currently employed at Saint Thomas More High School teaching Scripture. She received her Masters Degree in Religious Studies from Cardinal Stritch College in December of 2002. She was Cultural Diversity Liaison at Mount Mary College. She has also taught Moral Theology on a high school level.

As former members of St. Philip Neri, they serve as Eucharistic Ministers, Readers of the Word, and facilitators of the Archdiocesan Engagement Enrichment Program, and the Pre-Marital Inventory (FOCCUS) Program. In 1993, they created the Umoja Marriage Enrichment Group for couples where one or both spouses are African American. This group is the only Catholic African American Marriage group that is ongoing. In 1994, Valeria and Acklen received the Archbishop’s Vatican II award for families. Valeria has served as the Parish Council Chairperson and Treasure Trustee at St. Philip Neri. Daughters Ashleigh and Jerica are altar servers. Older son David is married and resides in Milwaukee where he does inner city parish work. Another son, Terrence, resides in San Diego, California.

Valeria and Acklen believe their marriage has survived because of their strong faith, their deep respect for each other, the fact that they are best friends, and their ability to laugh with and at each other.