Parishioners, Nigerian Apostolate purchase new pews, digital sign for St. Philip Neri Church

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

MIAMI GARDENS | It was not a coincidence that Father Fidelis Nwankwo, the administrator of St. Philip Neri Church, in Miami Gardens, chose St. Patrick’s Day as the day Archbishop Thomas Wenski would bless the church’s new pews and outside digital sign.

“Today is St. Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Nigeria, and the archbishop is blessing the new pews and digital church sign outside,” said Father Nwankwo.

“Good job, well done and we can do more for our church with a joyful heart,” added the priest, a native of Nigeria.

Donations from parishioners and members of the Nigerian Apostolate enabled the purchase of 30 new pews. The new padded pews, which cost $2,200 each, replace those that had been in use for 50 years. 

As part of the ceremony, members of the Nigerian choir of St. Monica's Church, dressed in native costumes, sang hymns in Ibo, the native language of Nigeria.

“The insured sign had to be replaced after a vehicle struck it,” said Katrenia Reeves-Jackman, director of the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry.

The new sign at the entrance to the Spanish-style building with a distinctive bell tower, displays church activities and office hours. Parishioners expressed their approval of the church improvements.

“The Lord made it easier for us to worship him,” said Richard Smith, a parishioner for 40 years. “We did it.”

The church began in 1951 as an outreach mission of St. Francis Xavier, Miami’s first all-black Catholic church. At first, Masses were celebrated in a vacant Bunche Park Shopping Center storefront and in private homes.

The church facility includes a rectory and a parish hall/daycare center. In 2009, faced with financial challenges, St. Philip Neri became one of several churches closed by the Archdiocese of Miami.

However, members of the close-knit parish worked and prayed for a miracle, and in 2011, the small in numbers, mighty in-faith parish received their miracle when Archbishop Wenski announced that St. Philip Neri Church would reopen.