Father Les is a native of the Philippines and attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and Central Seminary of Santo Tomas Seminary in Manila.  He was an associate pastor in the Diocese of Tagbilaran for four years before joining the Philippine Foreign Mission Society.

He then was a missionary for five years with the Paris Foreign Mission Fathers in Nakorn Ratchasima Diocese near Bangkok, Thailand.  

Father Les came to the United States in 1976 to speak about a mission appeal on behalf of the Thai diocese before returning to his homeland.

In 1978 he returned to the U.S. to work in the San Francisco Archdiocese to minister Filipino newcomers.  He also served as associate pastor at parishes in San Francisco, Sunnyvale and half Moon Bay, California.

Father Les left San Francisco in 1983 to work as a chaplain in the U.S. Army.  He was on active duty for nine years before joining the Wisconsin National Guard.  He is a Persian Gulf War veteran, also serving at Fort Hood, Texas; South Korea and Germany.