By Ana Rodriguez Soto - Florida Catholic newspaper

MIAMI | Father Daniel Kubala, a lover of nature and God’s creatures, longtime pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Miami, and founding director of the archdiocesan Respect Life Office, has died.

He was 67 and had been a priest for 42 years. Father Kubala retired from active ministry in May of last year, after a serious fall left him paraplegic. He suffered a heart attack Aug. 29 from which he never recovered, and died Aug. 31.

Father Kubala served as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle from 1989 to 2013, during which time he built what his friend since ordination, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, humorously described as “Kubala Land” — an oasis of meditation grounds, fauna, and organic gardens whose produce he donated to the Missionaries of Charity homeless shelter in Miami.

Father Kubala and the St. Thomas the Apostle community also adopted Cristo Salvador Parish in the Galapagos. He had initially traveled there to explore Isabela, an island that bore the name of his favorite saint, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. He found a place with unpaved roads and a church that had been destroyed by a tsunami.

“I saw the need of this faith community and jumped at the chance to help,” Father Kubala told the Florida Catholic in July 2012, when Cristo Salvador dedicated its new church. “It took over three years to slowly gather materials brought in by ship from the mainland, Ecuador, as well as many man-hours donated by the faithful.” 

A native of Central City, Pennsylvania, Father Kubala was born Jan. 16, 1951, one of four children — three boys, one girl — of Walter and Sophie Kubala. He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary’s College in St. Mary, Kentucky, and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Archbishop Coleman Carroll ordained him for the Archdiocese of Miami on May 15, 1976, one of eight new priests in a class that included Archbishop Wenski, Father Richard Soulliere and Father Tom Wisniewski, both now retired.

 

RESPECT LIFE

Father Kubala spent his first two years of priesthood as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception in Hialeah. In 1978 he was named parochial vicar at Visitation Church in North Miami and founding director of what was then called the “Pro-Life Movement.”

He organized what is now the Respect Life Office as a place where women in crisis pregnancies could receive spiritual and material support that would enable them to keep rather than abort their babies. Under his direction, the office also opened a St. Joachim and St. Ann Ministry for seniors — the other end of the “womb to tomb” movement.

Joan Crown, current director of the office, recalled “through tears” upon hearing of his death that Father Kubala “saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself which began my very privileged 37 years of ministry in Respect Life.”

When she visited him a few weeks ago, “we talked about the first child saved through our efforts in the Archdiocese of Miami. He never forgot that child and her parents,” Crown said. “He taught us very well to always be prepared for a knock at our door that could be ‘Mary’ looking for shelter.”   

 

PAPAL VISIT

Father Kubala served as Respect Life director until 1987, when he took on a five-month stint as administrator of Good Shepherd Parish in Kendall. He also worked on preparations for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Miami in September 1987.

“Father’s excitement over his most beloved Holy Father coming to Miami was unmatched (except for) his meeting Mother Teresa,” Crown recalled. 

He then spent a year, from 1988 to 1989, working with the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment while living at the staff house of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. At one point, he also served as chaplain to Catholic funeral directors.

In July 1989, he became parochial vicar and then administrator of St. Coleman in Pompano Beach, until his appointment to St. Thomas the Apostle that October.

In 1998, Father Kubala took an unusual sabbatical: He spent three months as a missionary in the Diocese of Cienfuegos, Cuba. He had begun traveling to the island in 1996, accompanying then-Bishop Wenski on humanitarian missions. He also had traveled there for John Paul II’s historic visit in January 1998.

“The people made their way into my heart,” he told La Voz Católica at the time. “I felt the desire to tell the Cubans that in Miami there were Catholics and a Church who wanted to support them.”

He served at a parish next to the Castillo de la Jagua, a colonial-era fort, where, until his arrival, Mass had only been celebrated once a year due to the lack of priests. In the mornings he would study Spanish in the diocesan chancery, then travel to the coast by automobile and cross the bay in a tiny boat. Upon arriving at the church, he would ring the bell and sit outside to wait, greeting passersby.

“I started by saying Mass for five or 10 people, and by the time I left the church was full,” he remembered.

 

ST. ELIZABETH SETON

In 2012, Father Kubala was one of 51 recipients of the Seton Legacy of Charity medal, which recognizes people for their charitable works in the spirit of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. He had developed a deep devotion to her during his studies at Mt. Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg and led a large annual pilgrimage from Miami to her shrine there.

“It is evident that, through the direct influence of Father Kubala, both the students and adults who make this pilgrimage are well instructed in the knowledge of Elizabeth Ann and that her spirit permeates their parish and personal lives,” the award presentation stated.

Father Kubala served again as parochial vicar at St. Coleman after leaving St. Thomas the Apostle in April 2013. He returned from a 10-month leave in 2014 and lived at St. Kieran in Miami while serving as chaplain to retired priests. His last assignment was as pastor of St. Matthew in Hallandale, from July 2015 until his retirement in May 2017.

“Father Kubala, like any priest, had his shortcomings, including a quick temper and a stubborn streak, but he loved the Lord, and he loved God’s people,” Archbishop Wenski said. “As a pastor (at St. Thomas), he was particularly dedicated to the parish school, one of the ‘flagships’ of our archdiocesan school system. Also, he tirelessly promoted Eucharistic adoration. Perpetual Adoration initiated by him continues today.”

Father Kubala is survived by his brothers, Frank and Walter, who live in Kentucky and Ohio, respectively, and his sister, Genevieve, who lives in Palmetto Bay, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services are scheduled for Monday evening, Sept. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m., with a prayer service at 8 p.m., followed by Mass on Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 10 a.m., all at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 N.W Second Ave., Miami. Burial will follow at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery, Doral.