Article Published

Article_many-cultures-on-display-as-st-joseph-marks-75th

Parish News | Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Many cultures on display as St. Joseph marks 75th

Archbishop Wenski presides at anniversary Mass that brings together whole community

MIAMI BEACH | Pat Collins’ connection to St. Joseph Church goes back a long way. He was baptized there in 1949 and entered fourth grade the day the parish school opened in 1958.

“I attended the school from fourth grade through eighth grade,” said Collins, 68, after a 75th anniversary Mass for the parish, which opened in 1942. “I was baptized and received confirmation at St. Joseph. I attended St. Patrick School until the school on North Beach opened.”

Collins, who lives in Bal Harbour, has been a parishioner since birth, except for his years at Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama, and the years he lived in southwest Miami and attended St. Catherine of Siena Church, from 1990 to 1998. He received a master’s degree in secondary education from Barry University and has been teaching U.S. history and government at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School for 46 years.

Collins recalled how the Adrian Dominican sisters who taught at St. Joseph influenced his life by modeling mercy and justice. He recalled one incident in particular.

“One day in fourth grade each student had to read from a religious book,” he said. “I was so nervous I didn’t want to foul up. I saw the final words of the passage with my eyes, but when I got to the part that was supposed to be, ‘Hosanna in the highest,’ I said, ‘Oh, Susanna in the highest.’ My classmates laughed and laughed. I was utterly humiliated. I thought I would be expelled from school or even excommunicated by the pastor.”

Longtime parishioner Pat Collins, left, sits on the stage along with co-commentator Teri Howard, during the 75th anniversary Mass for St. Joseph Parish, Miami Beach.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Longtime parishioner Pat Collins, left, sits on the stage along with co-commentator Teri Howard, during the 75th anniversary Mass for St. Joseph Parish, Miami Beach.

Collins said he waited nervously for the sister teaching the class to hand down his sentence.

“I will never forget her words,” Collins said. “Her words became a model of mercy. She said to a now silent class, ‘Let’s all thank Pat for giving us such a good laugh.’ I was redeemed and forgiven by sister. That’s what St. Joseph School meant to me. It was an example of merciful teaching.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski concelebrated the anniversary Mass Feb. 12, along with Father Juan Sosa, the parish’s current pastor, and other priests. The celebration — the only Mass at the parish that Sunday — brought the entire community together and took place in a vacant lot under a tent across the street from the church.

In his homily, the archbishop remembered the pioneers, both priests and people who were at the church from its beginning and have since passed away.

“We especially remember Father Noel Bennett and Father Joe O’Shea,” he said. “Both pastors had long tenures here at St. Joseph and served God’s people well.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Father Juan Sosa, pastor, and others process from St. Joseph Church to Mass site across the street. The parish marked its 75th anniversary Feb. 12 with a single outdoor Mass for the entire community.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Father Juan Sosa, pastor, and others process from St. Joseph Church to Mass site across the street. The parish marked its 75th anniversary Feb. 12 with a single outdoor Mass for the entire community.

Former Miami Dolphins football coach Don Shula and his wife are parishioners and donors to the church and its former school. The Don and Mary Ann Shula Tower, part of a new school building that opened in 1995, bears their name.

St. Joseph School closed in June 2010 due to lack of enrollment. But the building remains and is now leased to Mater Beach Academy, a charter school.

St. Joseph’s church and school were constructed on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. In 1985, Stella Maris House, a Catholic Health Services-run apartment complex for low-income elderly, opened on parish land.

The parish began in 1941, when Msgr. William Barry, then pastor of St. Patrick Church on the southern half of Miami Beach, announced plans to construct a mission church at the corner of 86th Street and Byron Avenue. Archbishop Joseph Hurley of St. Augustine, the diocese which then encompassed most of Florida, dedicated the church building in 1942.

After the Mass, Father Sosa thanked those who helped with the anniversary celebration.

“I welcome you today as we continue to celebrate our 75th anniversary as a community,” he said. “Your presence at this Mass of thanksgiving is a visible sign of your commitment to help St. Joseph Church grow and evolve in the future.”

As part of the celebration, Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco and Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales, himself a graduate of St. Joseph School, presented the archbishop and pastor with a proclamation naming Feb. 12, 2017 as St. Joseph Church Day in the city of Miami Beach.

In recent years, St. Joseph has become home to people from many different cultural groups, especially those from South and Central America and the Caribbean. Members of the church’s various ethnic communities carried flags of their country of origin from the church to the Mass under the tent.

The first and second readings were proclaimed in Spanish and Portuguese and parishioners wearing costumes from their native countries brought up the offertory gifts.

St. Joseph Church has planned a number of events to mark its 75th anniversary. Click here to see the list.

Father Juan Sosa, left, St. Joseph's pastor, poses with Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco, Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales, far right, a St. Joseph School graduate. Grieco and Morales presented a proclamation from the City of Miami Beach naming Feb. 12, 2017 "St. Joseph Catholic Church Day" in honor of the parish's 75th anniversary.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Father Juan Sosa, left, St. Joseph's pastor, poses with Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco, Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales, far right, a St. Joseph School graduate. Grieco and Morales presented a proclamation from the City of Miami Beach naming Feb. 12, 2017 "St. Joseph Catholic Church Day" in honor of the parish's 75th anniversary.


Powered by Parish Mate | E-system

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply