By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | The archdiocesan Office of Religious celebrated the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life at a Mass Jan. 30 at St. Mary Cathedral. Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrated the Mass, where the archdiocese also honored nine religious working here who are marking 75, 70, 60 and 50 years of religious profession. Following are brief biographies of those who are celebrating these milestones:

TRIPLE DIAMOND JUBILEE – 75 YEARS

Brother Rafael Martin, Marist Brothers

Brother Rafael was born April 1, 1924 in Las Villas, Cuba, and entered the Marist Juniorate in Cienfuegos Aug. 23, 1938. He arrived at the Juniorate in Espira-de-l’Agly, France, on May 10, 1939, and received the Marist habit on Aug. 2, 1941. He made his first religious profession Aug. 2, 1942 in Pontós, Catalunya, Spain.

Due to the war in Europe, he returned to Cuba in August 1943 and began teaching at Champagnat elementary school in Cienfuegos. He later transferred to Colegio Champagnat in Havana, where he taught elementary school until 1953, when he was assigned to the high school. In August 1957, he was named vocations promoter for the Cuba district of the Cuba-Central America Marist Province.

He left Cuba on June 15, 1961 and went to Colombia, where he taught school in Cali and Bogota. In December 1962, he arrived in South Florida to work at the Unaccompanied Cuban Children’s camp in Kendall, and later in Opa Locka. In September 1963 he was sent the Cristo Rey Residence for Cuban Children in Lincoln, Neb.

In 1965, he was assigned to Marist High School in Bayonne, N.J., and in June 1969 he returned to Miami as librarian at Christopher Columbus High School. From 1974 to 1977, he served as religious education director in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He returned to Columbus in 1977 and worked there as librarian and audio-visual director until his retirement in 1995.

DOUBLE DIAMOND JUBILEE – 70 YEARS

Sister Hilda Alonso, Daughters of Charity

Sister Hilda was born in San Juan y Martínez, Pinar del Río, Cuba, on Feb. 10, 1921. She studied at Colegio la Inmaculada in Havana and in 1946 obtained a doctorate in education from the national university in Havana. She entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in 1946 in Havana, making her first vows in 1951.

From 1951 to 1959 she served as principal of the Colegio la Inmaculada in Havana, then principal and superior of the Colegio de Belen in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente. She left Cuba in 1961 and became principal of La Milagrosa School in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as well as superior of the study house, a residence for university women.

She came to Miami in 1971 to work at Centro Hispano Católico and Gesu Parish with the newly arrived Cuban refugees. But in 1972 she returned to Puerto Rico after being named provincial of the Daughters of Charity there. In 1973, she founded the mission of the Daughters of Charity in Haiti.

Upon her return to Miami in 1981, Sister Hilda worked as director of religious education at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Miami (since closed). She continues working for the Daughters’ missions in Haiti as well Cuba; and she is spiritual director of the alumni association of all the schools of the Daughters of Charity of Cuba in exile.

DIAMOND JUBILEE – 60 YEARS

Sister Pierre Marie du Cœur de Jesus, Daughters of Wisdom

Sister Pierre Marie was born Oct. 11, 1935 in Port-de-Paix, Haiti and spent her formative years in Port-Au-Prince, attending school there and ultimately receiving certification as an elementary school teacher. In 1954, she heard the calling from God and decided to enter the novitiate of the Daughters of Wisdom in St. Louis du Nord, Haiti. She took her first vows in 1956 and pronounced perpetual vows in 1961 at St. Laurent-sur-Sevre in France.

For the first 10 years, she served as a teacher and assisted with the outreach ministries of her order in Haiti. From 1971 until 1974, she worked with the Haitian community in Nassau, Bahamas. In 1975, she came to the United States to work with the Haitian refugee community here: first as a social worker with the Catholic Service Bureau of the Archdiocese of Miami, then as a vocational counselor for HACAD Project Mainstream, and finally as a social worker and then residential manager for New Horizons Mental Health.

From 1983 to 1985, she worked as a social worker with Haitian refugees in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. In 1985, she went to work as a counselor for the Haitian refugee community in the Diocese of Orlando. She returned briefly to Haiti to assist the community there before returning to Miami, where she put her talents to work as a social worker on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She assisted the school system's migrant program for Haitian and Mexican refugees in Homestead until her retirement in November 2004.

Brother Felix Elardo, Marist Brothers

Brother Felix was born in New York City, where he attended a local public elementary school and a Marist high school, St. Agnes, where he first met the Marist Brothers. He started his Marist training in his senior year of high school in Esopus, N.Y. He completed his training and education at the novitiate in Tyngsboro, Mass., and at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Brother Felix came to Miami in 1965 to teach mathematics at Msgr. Edward Pace High School. He remained at Pace for 23 years, as teacher and basketball coach. In 1988, he became assistant principal at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he remained for five years.

His next assignment was as coordinator for high schools in the Archdiocese of Miami’s Department of Schools. After four years, he was asked to fill in as interim principal at St. Brendan High School in Miami. That “temporary” assignment lasted for 15 years. Brother Felix now teaches mathematics at Columbus High School.

Brother Stephen Kappes, Marist Brothers

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., May 22, 1937, Brother Steve attended the Marist Juniorate from 1954 to 1955. He made his two-year novitiate in Tyngsboro, Mass., then went to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American history in 1960. His first assignment was to Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami in September 1961, where he was part of the founding faculty with Father Lou Roberts. He taught many subjects and coached baseball and softball.

He left Pace in 1981 to teach in Marist schools in New Jersey: Marist High School in Bayonne and Roselle High School. He returned to Miami in 2006 and worked at St. Brendan High for six years. For the last four years he has been in charge of transportation at Christopher Columbus High.

Brother Vincent Moriarty, Marist Brothers

Brother Vincent was born Oct. 25, 1937 and educated in both public and parochial school in Westfield, Mass. He entered the Marist Brothers in August 1955; received his habit and made first vows in July 1956; and professed final vows Aug. 15, 1962. He has served in several schools in New York state and Florida as teacher and administrator.

While working in New York City, he was the alternate delegate to the United Nations for the NGO Movement for A Better World, dealing with the rights of children. He also was a missionary in Japan for many years, serving as principal of Marist Brothers International School in Kobe. He is currently retired and living at the Marist Residence connected to Christopher Columbus High, where he serves does volunteer work in campus ministry.

GOLDEN JUBILEE – 50 YEARS

Sister Michele Dolyk, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Born in the Ukraine and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Sister Michele is one of eight children. She joined the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, N.Y. in 1965, and received her master’s degree in reading from St. Bonaventure University in New York. Most of her ministry has been in teaching in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and in Miami.  While in Miami, she taught in Corpus Christi School, St. Mary Cathedral School and was principal of St. Francis Xavier School in Overtown.

Before coming to Miami, Sister Michele also was supervisor of admitting at St. Clare’s Hospital in New York City. She is a member of the Grant Committee of the Allegany Franciscan Ministries in Miami Dade County. She also works with men and women who wish to join the Allegany Franciscan Associate program. Currently, she is working to help the poor and marginalized of Miami.

Sister Frances O’Dell, Franciscan Sisters of Allegany

Sister Frances entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in 1965 and completed her formation in 1968. She obtained a degree in education from St. Bonaventure University in Allegany and taught in the congregation’s schools in Pomona and Westville, N.J. She then volunteered to serve in the sisters’ schools in Jamaica, West Indies, first in Highgate and then in Montego Bay.

After returning to the United States, she taught at Corpus Christi School and St. Francis Xavier School in Miami, both now closed. She then spent six years at St. Agnes Academy in Key Biscayne, during which she earned her degree in Library and Information Science. From then until retirement, she worked as a reference librarian at Barry University. She has served as a book reviewer for Catholic Library World for over 20 years.

Sister Patricia Shaules, Daughters of St. Paul

Sister Patricia was born in San Diego, Calif., and entered the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston, Mass., where she received her formation. Her ministry has included collaborating in the editorial, video and Internet departments of Pauline Books & Media Publishing and in developing their webstore. She has ministered in Pauline Book & Media Centers from coast to coast. Sister Patricia sang with the sisters’ St. Paul Choir for recordings and Christmas concerts. Here in Miami, Sister Patricia serves in the Pauline Books & Media Center on Flagler and S.W. 107th Ave., where she is currently presenting a course on “Living St. Paul’s Spirituality Today.”