Check back for the latest project updates as we keep a running timeline of the overall Centennial Campaign!
April 12, 2024: The organ building contract with CB Fisk is formally signed.
February 28, 2024: The sample pew manufactured by New Holland Church Furniture is delivered on site and put on display in the church vestibule. A full-scale model of the new pews, the sample depicts the decorative pew end with the same design as the stained-glass window and the wood stain matches the grills and wall panels found throughout the church. Feel free to sit in the sample pew next time you go to the church!
January 25, 2024: Church staff meets with Darryl Podunavac of Lux Mundi Consulting, who will serve as the Owner’s Rep for the organ and church projects. Timelines for the projects in the church are narrowing into focus.
January 15 – 25, 2024: As the existing organ continues to deteriorate, the timeline to move the music ministry up to the balcony is bumped up. Thanks to the generosity of Belen Jesuit High School, a temporary organ is added to the balcony and seating is re-arranged upstairs to accommodate the choir and all musical equipment. The choir loft in the nave is demolished to make space for additional pew seating on the floor level of the church.
December 15, 2023: The STS Multipurpose Center project is presented to the City of Coral Gables Development Review Committee.
December 2023: The stop list for the new organ is finalized with CB Fisk. The COTLF organ will not only be the first mechanical action pipe organ in South Florida but will also feature a first-of-its-kind organ engineering in order to make the instrument work in our available balcony space.
December 6, 2023: The wood and stain selection for the new pews is finalized. New Holland Church Furniture begins work on a small sample pew which, once delivered, will be displayed in the vestibule/entrance of the church.
November 26, 2023: The Centennial Campaign welcomes its first Rose Circle donor, who pledges a $1 Million dollar gift to push the overall total past the 50% pledge mark!
November 14, 2023: PF Management & Construction is selected as the project management firm to lead the STS Multipurpose Center project and immediately begins assisting with the ongoing approvals process with the City of Coral Gables.
October 24-25, 2023: In a major collaborative effort, CB Fisk (Organ) and PMM Consulting Engineers meet on-site to investigate the existing church balcony and the structural support needs of the proposed new organ. Later, Canning Liturgical Arts (Church Interior), Threshold Acoustics, and New Holland Church Furniture (Pews) all convene at Church of the Little Flower for a team-wide project update and acoustical testing inside the church. Results of this testing will provide a better understanding of what preparatory work may be needed inside the church for the new organ and key insight into the final specifications of the organ itself. Collaboration is needed among all elements of the church project, as the end goal is for the organ and new pews to be reflective of, and in coordination with, the existing design of the church and the new elements that are being considered.
October 1, 2023: The public phase of the Centennial Campaign is launched at all Sunday Masses as Church of the Little Flower and St. Theresa School celebrates its parish Feast Day.
September 14-16, 2023: Fr Manny, Jorge Santibáñez, and Luis Cuza visit the CB Fisk Workshop in Gloucester, MA. In addition to a tour of the workshop, where they see first-hand how the Fisk Organs are designed and built by hand, they also visit the Fisk Organs installed at All Saints Church and Harvard Memorial Chapel. The highlight of the trip is the unveiling of the early-phase scale model of the COTLF Pipe Organ (Opus 166) placed in the rear gallery of the church. The scale model will continue to change as different elements of the project are confirmed. Once finalized, the scale model will be an exact replica of the church and the new organ, down to even the smallest of details!
Spring 2023: CB Fisk, out of Gloucester, MA, is selected as the organ builder for the Centennial organ project.
August 2022: The silent fundraising phase begins and the first $1 Million is pledged.
March 30, 2022: St. Theresa School is re-accredited with the condition that a gym is planned for and built within the accreditation period of 7 years. Planning for the STS Multipurpose Center immediately kicks off in earnest.
March 17, 2022: Fr Manny, Sr Rosalie, Jorge Santibáñez (Parish Life Coordinator), Ashley Sacks (Parish Development Director) and Luis Cuza (Parish Director of Music Ministries) meet with Archbishop Thomas Wenski to present the initial plans for the Centennial Campaign. On March 18, 2022, the Archbishop grants approval for the overall plan and the parish is given permission to proceed.
November 2021: Canning Liturgical Arts and New Holland Church Furniture meet on-site with parish staff to review project goals and formulate initial concept drawings for the restoration of the church interior and design of the new pews.
March 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic brings all plans to a full stop and all Centennial projects are tabled for future consideration.
January 2020: Fr Manny and Sr Rosalie meet with the City of Coral Gables Vice Mayor and preliminary research is done on the feasibility of constructing a gym on the school campus.
July 2019: Fr. Manny Alvarez becomes the 9th Pastor of Church of the Little Flower and St. Theresa School. As part of the transition in, he is updated on the proposed Centennial projects and an initial plan is set in place for 5-Year Centennial Campaign to be launched in 2021.
December 2018: Then-Pastor Fr Michael Davis formally presents a Centennial Plan to the Parish Council for consideration and feedback. Though never publicly launched, this sets the basic framework for what will eventually become the Building on Our Legacy Centennial Campaign.
2017: COTLF Staff begins to formulate a list of projects that can be undertaken within 10 years in anticipation of the parish centennial celebration in 2026. With the existing electric organ beginning to break down and fail, the installation of a new pipe organ is identified as the “crown jewel” project for the parish centennial.