By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

CORAL GABLES | Deacon Rafael de los Reyes, the first and longest-serving permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Miami, died July 22, 2025. He was 86 years old.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Augustine Parish in Coral Gables on July 25, by retired Bishop Fernando Isern of Pueblo, Colorado, and priests of the Archdiocese of Miami. Several permanent deacons were also in attendance.

Father Manny Alvarez, pastor of Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, where Deacon de los Reyes served for more than 40 years, preached the homily at the funeral Mass.

“The apostolic spirit of our dear deacon was so strong that he worked tirelessly to bring souls to Christ. It was his mission, and now it is his legacy,” Father Alvarez said.

Deacon de los Reyes was born Oct. 11, 1939, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, to Rafael and Angela.

A standout basketball player in his youth, he was selected in 1959 to play for Cuba's Olympic basketball team. While touring the former Soviet Union in preparation for the 1961 Olympic Summer Games, his team's plane made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland. He took a risk and defected, seeking asylum to escape the Castro regime. He remained in Ireland and eventually made his way to the United States, where he was reunited with his future wife, Dulce "Dulcita" Pizarro.

A note from his online obituary stated that: “Though he left his homeland behind, Rafael never ceased to love Cuba with all his heart. The values and culture of his native land remained imprinted on his soul, and he carried that love with him into everything he did. His early passion for basketball—disciplined, fervent, and inspiring—eventually gave way to a greater calling: a life poured out for his Catholic faith and his family.”

Deacon de los Reyes married Dulce Dec. 2, 1961. They were together for 63 years and had three children: Rafael Jr., Lisa, and George. They were later blessed with seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

In his early years in the United States, while working two jobs, Deacon de los Reyes earned a bachelor’s degree in physics, and later a master’s in civil engineering.

Seeking ways to serve in the faith, he discerned the permanent diaconate, which had recently been restored after the Second Vatican Council. He studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., from 1968 to 1970 and was ordained Dec. 8, 1973. He became the Archdiocese of Miami’s first permanent deacon.

“Firmly rooted and grounded in faith, Deacon Rafael served for 52 years beyond reproach before God and man, as is proper for the ministers of Christ and the stewards of God’s mysteries,” said Deacon Victor Pimentel, director of the archdiocesan Office of Permanent Diaconate.

Deacon de los Reyes’ first assignment was at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, known as La Ermita de la Caridad. Alongside Miami Auxiliary Bishop Augustín Román, they assisted the community of Cubans, Haitians, and other exiles who arrived in multitudes, many settling in Miami and other parts of South Florida.

Deacon de los Reyes was later appointed spiritual director of several ministries, including the marriage preparation ministry Camino de Matrimonio, Cursillos de Cristiandad and Renovación Carismática Católica Hispana de Miami. He was a founding member of Radio Paz, the Catholic radio station of the Archdiocese of Miami, where he helped proclaim the Gospel over the airwaves. He also helped launch PaxNet, a satellite-based platform that broadcasts Catholic programming to Central and South America.

For the past 25 years, Deacon de los Reyes had served as the spiritual director of the archdiocese’s Apostolate of Divine Mercy.

In an interview with the Florida Catholic in 2009, he admitted that, at first, he was not a fan of religious devotions. But in 1999, as a birthday present to his wife, he agreed to go on a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland, home of the Shrine of Divine Mercy. The experience changed his mind.

“I was touched by the Lord’s grace,” the deacon said. “That is the only way to explain how things come about and how they are in my heart. It is grace.”

After his third trip to the shrine, the now retired Miami Archbishop John Favalora appointed him to lead the Apostolate of Divine Mercy in Miami.

In a 2012 interview with the Florida Catholic, Deacon de los Reyes noted: “The message of Divine Mercy is so profound, so intense, and so urgent that it needs to be developed and studied,” adding, “Saint Faustina didn’t just write the messages from Jesus about Divine Mercy, she lived it.”

Inspired by a religious mystic to live faith through action, Deacon de los Reyes helped organize the first Congress of Divine Mercy in South Florida in 2012. The international weekend-long event at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens attracted an audience of about 450 people from the United States, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa to learn about Divine Mercy and Saint Faustina's spirituality.

Deacon de los Reyes hoped to one day build a Divine Mercy Spirituality Center in Miami complete with a sanctuary, a convent for the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, and a retreat house for “pilgrims to flock to from all the countries of the Americas to venerate the miraculous image of the merciful Jesus and worship him in the Blessed Sacrament,” he told the Florida Catholic in 2012.

In 2014, the apostolate purchased a two-acre property at 4121 SW 85th Avenue in Miami, which currently hosts a shrine with two chapels, a small religious store and an office. Donations are still needed to help raise funds for the full building project, estimated to cost about $4 million. Deacon de los Reyes remained optimistic that the goal would one day be met.

Deacon de los Reyes ministered in nine parishes in the Archdiocese of Miami. He served at the Church of the Little Flower, his home parish, for over 40 years. In 2023, he celebrated his 50th anniversary as a deacon there. Father Alvarez celebrated the Mass, calling it a full-circle moment to bless and honor a man who had known him since birth.

“I always saw him as this towering figure with a booming, anchorman-like voice, always full of joy,” said Father Alvarez.

Years ago, when the Alvarez family settled in Miami, Deacon de los Reyes gave Father Alvarez’s father his first steady job building houses. They later collaborated on projects such as the construction of the convent for the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.

Father Alvarez said that Deacon de los Reyes’ humility and willingness to serve, inside and outside of the Church, are what he will be most remembered for.

“People will remember him as a giant of an apostle because he was so tall, and he always wanted to be an apostle. He wanted to spread the word; he wanted to bring people closer to Christ,” said Father Alvarez.

He added, “People will remember that sense of service, of wanting to give himself completely to the Church, but also completely to his family, who learned to serve the Church through his example.”

 

TO LEARN MORE

• To read Deacon Rafael de Los Reyes’ full obituary click here. 
• To learn more about the Apostolate of the Divine Mercy in Miami, visit www.divinemercyflorida.com