Father John Peloso dies at 70

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

MIAMI | Father John Peloso, a priest known for his great sense of humor, his love for everyone, sports and animals, died March 4, 2026, at the age of 70.

He served in the Archdiocese of Miami for 26 years. He retired from St. Edward Church in Pembroke Pines in 2021.

Father Peloso was born in the Bronx, New York, Nov. 11, 1955. He came to Florida when he was two years old. He was one of eight children and had an identical twin brother, Michael.

He worked as a commercial and deep-sea diver, played in a rock band, painted cars, dabbled in farming and was undefeated as a professional kickboxer before entering the seminary.

He graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. He was 40 years old when he was ordained to the priesthood May 11, 1996, for the Archdiocese of Miami.

In a letter about himself to St. Edwards Church parishioners when he was appointed pastor in 2011, he said, “God somehow got my attention, and I realized that God was indeed real and a real part of my life now, in this life.”

“I have lost someone who was not only a servant of the Lord but someone I considered a friend,” said Duane Meece, building and facilities strategic manager at St. Edward Parish, who met Father Peloso when the priest arrived as pastor and Meece was serving as senior sacristan.

Meece said it was Father Peloso who invited him to join the staff of the church in 2018.

He was just so fun-loving

“Father John was unique. He had a wicked sense of humor but had the ability to bring the faith down to what people confront in their daily lives. It even showed up during my wedding when I was threatened by him with a wooden spoon if I didn’t follow my wife’s directions,” said Meece.

“Everybody loved him, and everybody looked forward to his homilies, which were to the point, and you learned something from them that you could apply to everyday life,” said Lydia Ward.

Ward said that Father Peloso was just so fun-loving. He used props like golf balls to explain his homilies. “One time he brought his diving tanks to church and turned them on gave a shot of hot air and everybody jumped out of their seat. He made everybody laugh.”

During a carnival, Father Peloso put on his wetsuit and sat in the dunk tank, and people threw balls at him to knock him into the water. When he fell, “he would give you an autographed softball with his name on it. I have two,” said Ward.

One night at an auction and dinner, “he came all dressed as Captain America —with the tights, the boots, the mask, everything,” remembered Ward.

“In his homilies, he would tell you something and then he would say, ‘This is a true story.’ And it would always be something funny,” said Ward.

“He was a big lover of animals like me. He had cats and I had cats and dogs,” she added.

“The kids absolutely loved him. He was very funny. He wasn't afraid to give somebody a hug if you needed it. And he loved to cook,” she added.

Ileana Iglesias confirmed that, “Father John would often make his legendary lasagna or special tuna and dressing during Lent for the staff.”

Iglesias, office manager and administrative assistant to the pastor at St. Edward Church, also met Father Peloso when he arrived at the church. “I worked side by side with him in my role as ministry coordinator, a promotion he gave me shortly after becoming pastor,” she said.

“I learned many lessons from Father John, but what I remember most was his sense of humor. He could bring joy to any situation even during a difficult moment.  He was a very giving soul who many times did acts of kindness even when he was already in severe pain. He will be remembered with much affection,” Iglesias added.

“He did so much for everybody. He will be missed,” said Ward.

Ward had known Father Peloso since they were both 14 years old and classmates at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. She learned that Father Peloso was a priest when she was organizing his class's 30-year reunion in 2003.

Father Peloso attended the reunion and celebrated Mass. “We were so proud of him,” Ward said.

After that first reunion, Ward, a lector at St. Edward, thought her childhood friend could be her church's pastor. “I said it as a joke, and nine years later God granted that wish because he became the pastor of St. Edward. I couldn't have been more excited,” she added.

She invited her classmates to attend Father Peloso's first Mass at the parish. He thought they all belonged to the same parish. After Father Peloso arrived, Ward became a Eucharistic minister, and they served together during Mass.

From their teenage years, Ward remembers that young John “loved all kinds of sports.” He was on the football team. He loved everything that had to do with the outdoors. “He was a very spiritual person and at the same time so fun-loving,” Ward said.

With his twin brother, Michael, “nobody could tell them apart until we were seniors in high school. Then they wore their hair differently. They were exactly the same,” said Ward.

As brothers, “we always had each other's back. We both believe in God. And we both try to love people as much as we can,” said Michael Peloso, twin brother of Father Peloso.

Michael said that his brother did things for others that many people don't know about, such as bringing food and talking to people with alcohol and drug problems and visiting the incarcerated.

About their love for sports and kickboxing, Michael said, “He was good, but I was undefeated.”

They both worked together as commercial divers until Father Peloso entered the seminary.

“On his summer breaks from the seminary, I would take him to work with me. I didn't even pay him. I just made him lunch,” his brother said.

“He had a very good life until he started getting ill about five years ago,” said his brother.

He would like people to remember Father Peloso as someone who “was a man of God, but he was a regular person. He had faults. But the bottom line is he did his best to embrace people and point them to God,” he added.

Michael remembers that his brother prepared his homilies with great care. “He always wanted to be accurate in the truth, and not just say something made up,” he added.

In 2019, St. Edward Church paid off the mortgage on its main building after a seven-year fundraising campaign that raised $2.66 million.

Father Peloso credited the congregation, which had 44 ministries at that time, including men's, women's and youth groups; food distribution; rosary groups; greeters; ushers; “Life in the Spirit” retreats; and small groups called parish evangelizing cells.

Father Peloso is survived by two sisters, three brothers and several nephews and nieces.

Father Peloso served as parochial vicar at St. Andrew, Coral Springs (1996-99) and St. Louis, Pinecrest (1999-2002), until being named administrator and then pastor of San Pedro Church in Plantation Key in 2003. In 2011, he was named pastor of St. Edward in Pembroke Pines until his retirement in 2021.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

• The Mass of Christian Burial for Father John Peloso will be celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski Friday, March 13, 2026, beginning with a viewing at 9 a.m., followed by Mass at 11 a.m. at St. Edward Parish, 19000 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines.
• Interment will follow at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1500 S State Rd. 7, North Lauderdale.