Little Flower Parish remembers its earliest days

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

Photography: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

CORAL GABLES | Ed Brownell entered kindergarten at St. Joseph’s Academy in 1929. Eighty-seven years later, he sat in the front pew with his wife, Blanche, during a 90th anniversary Mass for his old school — now known as St. Theresa — and his forever parish, Little Flower.

“Originally, it was a boarding school for girls and I was the only boy,” said Brownell, 92, who received a plaque for being a member of the school’s first graduating class and a pillar of the parish today. “I loved the sisters, but I thought the girls were a nuisance.

“There were about 50 students in the beginning, so the nuns combined grades,” he continued. “My mother worked for the nuns who ran the school, the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine. She did billing, kept the books and cleaned. Because of her work, I didn’t have to pay tuition. My brother, Clarence, who was two years younger, also attended the school.”

Brownell remembers the Depression years and said times were tough for his family.

“We rented a house nearby for $5 a month,” he said. “The roof leaked, we didn’t have electricity and running water.”

However, Brownell and his brother received a good education at St. Theresa School, where they both attended “all the way through high school.” (It now goes up to eighth grade.)

Eleanor Naan Moore and her twin sister, Louise Naan Owens, sat together throughout their years at St. Theresa School. They graduated in 1946. Eleanor remembers the World War II years.

“There were men and women in uniform all over Miami,” she said. “I was 13 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed. During the war, the Biltmore Hotel was Pratt General Army Hospital. I was a Junior Gray Lady. We wore uniforms and danced with the soldiers at social events. I even shook hands with General Dwight Eisenhower when he visited the hospital.”

Little Flower Parish traces its roots back to 1926. The parish buildings rose on six acres of land donated by George Merrick, the founder of Coral Gables. Little Flower’s founding pastor, Father Thomas Comber, arrived on Oct. 17, 1926 — the same day the parish concluded its year-long 90th anniversary celebration.

The first Masses were celebrated in the St. Joseph Academy convent library until 1928, when a parish center-auditorium, which would also serve as a church, was dedicated.

Msgr. Comber and Jacksonville architect Gerald Barry had conceived of a master plan for a “dream church” — a glorious Spanish Renaissance style building — in the 1920s. But the cost became prohibitive because of the Depression.

After World War II, as an era of peace and prosperity took hold, Msgr. Comber and Barry revisited the original plans for a church and updated them for the new era. On Dec. 8, 1951, the new church was dedicated, and the original church became Msgr. Thomas Comber Parish Hall.

The founding pastor died in 1960. He was followed by Msgr. Peter J. Reilly, 1960-1978; Msgr. William McKeever, 1978-1982; Msgr. John W. Glorie, 1982-1989; Father Kenneth Whittaker, 1989-1992; Msgr. Xavier Morras, 1992-2002; Father Arthur C. Dennison, 2002-2011; and currently, Father Michael Davis.

In the beginning, the parish was predominantly Irish-American. After the Cuban revolution, the demographics changed and the church became predominantly Cuban-American. It now has more than 3,000 registered households.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who celebrated the anniversary Mass, called the 90th a warm-up for the 100th.

“This is a beautiful church, not just the church, but the community of faith, hope and love,” he said. “Your parish is named after St. Theresa of Lisieux, known as the Little Flower. She was canonized in 1925 and was a very popular saint. It’s no surprise that the original parishioners wanted the parish to be named for her. Her feast day is October 1, but, we are celebrating on the anniversary of the parish’s establishment.”

St. Theresa was a member of the Carmelite order, the same community whose members have been administering the school for the past 25 years, he noted. She died at a young age, 24, and is known for her “little way,” the way of spiritual childhood, the way of confidence and total abandonment to God.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the archbishop and Father Davis also presented plaques to Sister Elizabeth Worley, representing the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine who ran the school for 65 years; and current principal Sister Rosalie Nagy, of the Carmelites of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles.

Father Davis called the 90th anniversary celebration a tremendous occasion.

“I’m so glad that the archbishop and several area priests have joined us tonight. This is such an experience of community. There was one 95-year-old woman who told me she remembered when there was nothing on this site,” he said.

A notable distinction about Little Flower Church is that it’s the only church in the country where not one but two presidential candidates can be found on Sundays: Jeb Bush is a parishioner, and Marco Rubio, who was married there in 1998, often attends.