By Emily Chaffins -

Photography: Emily Chaffins | FC

MIAMI SHORES | When Archbishop Thomas Wenski walked into the cafeteria at the Archdiocese of Miami’s Pastoral Center on Oct. 28, the room burst into applause. Pastoral Center employees – from the archdiocese’s HR department, to the Safe Environment team, to Catholic education administrators –  every day support the archbishop’s ministry to South Florida’s Catholic community. On Oct. 28, they gathered in the cafeteria to sing happy birthday to Archbishop Wenski.

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Archbishop Thomas Wenski was born Oct. 18, 1950, in West Palm Beach. Having turned 76 this October, he also celebrated 50 years of priesthood in May. He has served as archbishop of Miami since 2010.

At his 75th birthday party last year, Archbishop Wenski told the story of his very Floridian birth: his mother went into labor during the Category 4 Hurricane King.

Since third grade, he knew he wanted to become a priest. He is a graduate of local St. John Vianney College Seminary and St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary. He was one of the Archdiocese of Miami’s initial seminarians to become fully bilingual in English and Spanish. After he was ordained a priest, he served in Haitian ministry for nearly 20 years, obtaining a pilot’s license so he could more easily travel around his large ministry area in Florida.

During the birthday festivities on Oct. 28, Pastoral Center employees shared their favorite memories with Archbishop Wenski.

The archbishop is known for being the bishop on the bike, cruising around on his black Harley-Davidson, which he keeps at the Pastoral Center Maintenance Department. During the Archbishop’s Motorcycle Ride every January, Archbishop Wenski leads a motorcycle ride across South Florida, fundraising for the local St. Luke’s Addiction Recovery Center. The year 2027 will mark the archbishop’s 15th ride.

Dr. Jim Rigg, archdiocesan secretary of education and superintendent of schools, reminisced about a time a couple of years ago when the archbishop unexpectedly pulled up to a job fair on his motorcycle to spend time with job searchers.

“We were at a job fair at Mother of Our Redeemer, and he showed up out of the blue,” said Rigg. “He went around interacting with the people there on a human level. It showed his humility.”

Mayra Rossell, administrative assistant to the archdiocesan chancellors, enjoys coffee breaks with Archbishop Wenski, appreciating his sense of humor. “He tells us jokes and stories,” she said.

Speaking Spanish, Haitian-Creole and Polish in addition to English, Archbishop Wenski is known for his ability to communicate in an array of languages. As the Sun Sentinel reported upon his 1997 ordination as Miami auxiliary bishop, “Wenski's gift with languages bemuses even his fellow priests… Some friends joke that Wenski would say Mass in Martian if a UFO landed in South Florida.”

Jean Voltaire from the Pastoral Center’s maintenance crew deeply enjoys his conversations with the archbishop in Haitian-Creole. “It makes me feel proud. I love him, he’s one of the best archbishops we’ve ever had.”