My Dear Friends:

Welcome to our (original) church. As you look around our new worship space this weekend, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of our founding parishioners. In 1927, the building where we will be celebrating Mass for the next few months was consecrated as a church. Imagine how the first Catholics of Coral Gables must have felt when they walked into a church they could call their own and not have to celebrate Mass in a small chapel or a theater. This was their home for the first 25 years of our parish’s existence. Our first baptisms and weddings were celebrated here. We have a couple of parishioners who remember receiving their First Communions here.

A few years ago, I remember a parishioner showing me pictures of her parents’ wedding here in the old church in the 1940’s. Her father was a sailor and was dressed in his formal Navy blues. The façade of this building looked a bit different and for a while, along with the Biltmore hotel and our school’s three-story building, it was the only prominent building in the neighborhood.

This is where we will be offering the Divine Sacrifice of the Mass over the next few months. We have moved the saints and the devotional candles back here so that it could truly feel like home, but what makes this place sacred is the Real Presence of Christ in the tabernacle and the presence of all of you!

The pews in our main church were removed quite quickly on Monday morning and repairs to our balcony are currently underway to prepare for our pipe organ next year.

You will notice that my bulletin columns will be briefer this summer since more space is needed in the bulletin for the Sunday Mass readings and songs. On this Trinity Sunday, we commend our parish to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to guide us and transform us this summer into the divine image of Christ, our Lord.

And one last thing: Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers. May St. Joseph always protect you and your families.

God Bless You All,