By Daniel Sone - Florida Catholic
Photographer: FILE PHOTO Exterior of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary's parish plant before the demolition. The church, on the left, with its multifaceted roof, had to be torn down as an unsafe structure. Photographer: COURTESY The new logo of Holy Rosary- St. Richard combines the identities of both parishes.
MIAMI — Father Luis Alberto Perez is pulling double duty as a pastor. He has all the responsibilities of other pastors, but over two churches: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Cutler Bay and St. Richard Church in Palmetto Bay.
This has raised concerns among Holy Rosary parishioners that their parish is shuttering up as others had to do last year. Father Perez disagrees.
“The position has never been that it was closing,” Father Perez said, referring to Archbishop Favalora’s letter announcing the merger. “It is being united with a neighboring Catholic Church. Therefore, we are joining and sharing resources, talents, and gifts. That is a new vision: A new beginning for two faith communities.”
The combined parish will be called Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard, and Father Perez likes to refer to the combined facilities as the “north campus and south campus.”
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was the first parish established by Miami’s first archbishop, Coleman Carroll, when the diocese was founded in 1958. About 20 years ago, it embarked on the process of building a permanent church, which was dedicated four years later.
But the building had major structural flaws, and after years of unsuccessful fixes, it was condemned as unsafe by the county and had to be torn down. That process of building, repairing and demolition left the parish deeply in debt and parishioners gathering for Mass in the parish hall, the only one of the newly constructed buildings that could be repaired. For a while one summer, they celebrated Mass under big tents on the parish grounds.
The way the merger is structured, parishioners will meet for Mass at St. Richard but Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School will continue to exist at its current location. St. Richard does not have a parish school.
One sign of the expansion created by the upcoming merger is the large combined number of children enrolled for religious education this year, over 900. Another sign of growth, Father Perez said, is in music. More than 90 people attended a recent gathering for music ministers and their families. “All these things are taking place and it is wonderful,” he said.
This was evidenced by the initial reaction to Archbishop Favalora’s letter. Passionately opposed to the archbishop’s recommendation, Holy Rosary’s parishioners “gathered petitions from everywhere, in parking lots and other places. Even people visiting from Cuba signed the petitions,” Father Perez said. Father Luis Alberto Perez is the pastor of both parishes.
Since then, things have calmed down. Father Perez and his transition committee have been facilitating the process while reaching out to those who are still hurting from the news. As the liturgical year draws to a close, the parish is preparing to take the next major step in the merger.
“We didn’t intentionally plan it this way, but it coincides with the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of the new one,” he said.
At that point, the worship spaces and other portions of the property will not be used because they will have moved to St. Richard Church. The school, however, and associated buildings at Holy Rosary will remain and “continue to move forward.”
It was originally proposed that the unused portions of the property would be sold to rid Holy Rosary of its nearly $5 million debt. However, with the installation of a new archbishop June 1, the fate of that property remains unclear.
Sister Elizabeth Worley, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph who serves as the archdiocese’s chief operating officer and chancellor for administration, said there is “no final decision regarding whether excess property at Holy Rosary parish will be sold or whether the land will be retained with hope of future use by the archdiocese.”
Father Perez, seeking to combat persistent rumors, stressed that “all the conversations that we have had up to now are that there are no plans to sell any church property. And as long as the school is self-sustaining — which it is, with nearly 400 students — it will not be closed.”
Although the merger has been painful in some respects for Father Perez and his Holy Rosary parishioners, he remains positive. “I was presented with a challenge and I saw the possibilities. And the possibilities were greater than the disabilities. So coming together brings a new life and a new vision.”
NEW MASS SCHEDULE
As of Nov. 28, all Masses for Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Parish will be celebrated at St. Richard, 7500 S.W. 152 St., Palmetto Bay, FL 33157. The schedule is as follows:
• Saturday vigil, 5 p.m.
• Sunday: 7, 8:30, 10, and 11:30 a.m.; youth Mass 5 p.m.; Spanish Mass 7 p.m.
• Daily Mass: 8 a.m. followed by the rosary.
• For information call 305-233-8711.
This article has been changed/updated since it appeared in the November print edition of the Florida Catholic newspaper. Click here or on the link below to read the letter Father Perez wrote to parishioners, which will be published in the Nov. 21 parish bulletin. The Mass schedule for the week of Nov. 22-Nov. 28 can be viewed here. Photographer: FILE PHOTO St. Richard Parish does not have a school. The school at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary will remain open but all Masses will take place at St. Richard.
