By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

MIAMI GARDENS | “Deo gratias” translates to “thanks be to God.” The phrase of praise was cheered by students, faculty and the community of the Marian Center recently as they celebrated Mass in honor of the feast day of their patron, St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo.

Born in 1786 in the Piedmont region of Italy, the saint dedicated much of his life to the poor and the sick during a time when civil war was tearing his country apart. Inspired by the life of St. Vincent de Paul, he opened the House of Providence which served the sick, elderly, mentally ill, blind, and others afflicted by poor health.

He died April 30, 1842. His feast day is April 28.

For more than 170 years, the Sisters of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo have carried on their patron’s work throughout the world, including at the Marian Center, where aided by teachers and volunteers, the sisters assist people with intellectual disabilities.

“In this birthday celebration, if you will, we celebrate St. Joseph’s goodness of life,” said Father Curtis Kiddy, pastor of St. Jerome Parish in Fort Lauderdale, during his homily at the Mass. “We celebrate that not only are our sisters here because of St. Joseph, and us, and their love for us, we also celebrate that the Benedict family is expanding itself throughout the world with many people collectively embracing the spirituality of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo.”

The sisters’ work at the Marian Center has inspired two of their volunteers, Shirley Moye and Rita Chiofalo, to join the Laity Aggregate Association of the Sisters of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, founded in 2012.

Sister Lidia Valli, principal of the Marian Center, described it as a new adventure in the women’s faith journey.

“Anyone, ladies, gentleman, married couples, anyone that wants to do this kind of journey in the spirituality of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo can do the journey,” said Sister Lidia. “It’s a step. You want to be involved in the life of prayer, in the life of service, of dedication, volunteer work, everything that has been taught by St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo and anything that we sisters are sharing with you here at the Marian Center.”

At the conclusion of Mass, the festivities continued outdoors as everyone gathered at a new basketball court for a dedication ceremony. Father Kiddy blessed the court and Toni Acocella, president of the Parent Teacher Association at the Marian Center, cut the ribbon.

“Today we’re celebrating the hard work of the PTA raising money for the Marian Center and giving them the basketball court,” said Acocella.

But her PTA board and other parents are already looking at expanding the project to include a large shaded canopy over the court and surrounding playground area, which would greatly benefit students during the summer months.

To do that, Acocella said, will require more fundraising and help from the community.

“We work very hard on trying to get the word out to the people of the community about what we’re trying to do because we would like some benefactors to help us,” she said.

Until then, the Marian Center students look forward to shooting hoops and playing in the new area.

And what’s a sport without cheerleaders? Before leaving the court, a squad of Marian Center students carrying blue pompoms led the crowd in a cheer of joy and gratitude, the first on the new basketball court but certainly not the last.

As Father Kiddy noted, “We celebrate each other here at the Marian Center because we make a difference. We make a difference in our lives, we make a difference in each other’s lives, we make a difference in our world and in our community here in Miami.”