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St. Agatha's: "A Parish with a forward look" *God, through his servant, the late Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll, D.D., chose the Reverend William L. O'Dea S.T.B., M.A., ordained February 4, 1956, to be the first Administrator of St. Agatha Catholic Church on June 17, 1971. *Religious services began a little over a month later on July 11, 1971, and Parish was established, when Father O'Dea was successful in arranging to conduct Masses at the auditorium of Miami Coral Park Senior High School, 8865 S.W. 16 Street. *The year 1971 also proved a busy one with the establishment on August 1, 1971, of the St. Vincent de Paul Society to take care of the poor, underprivileged and needy of the parish. *On October 7, 1971, the St. Agatha Family Guild met for the first time and nearby Temple Or Olom, 8755 S.W. 16 Street. Rabbi Ralph X. Glixman and his congregation were so generous in making it available for this purpose, which created strong bonds and ties that persisted for many years. *Just as "man does not merely live by bread alone", so a church's activities encompass more than the spiritual. St. Agatha's first social took place on November 20, 1971, with its first Pre-Thanksgiving Dance held in the auditorium of Temple Or Olom. *The first concrete step indicating that a new church would be constructed took place on March 31, 1972, with the signing of the closing paper for the church rectory site at 2035 S.W. 97 Avenue, providing a home base for Father O'Dea and his Associates. Mrs. Beatrice R. Bechamps was more than just the rectory housekeeper, she was a wonderful lady who met an untimely and accidental death on May 1, 1972. Although this was to be a temporary rectory, Father O'Dea would begin to wonder in the years to come just how temporary things turn out to be as he endeavored to motivate the parish leaders and people to speed up the tentative time table. *An eight day rectory housewarming followed between April 16-23, 1972, at which time, everyone in the parish became somewhat better acquainted. *On May 26-28, 1972, we had our first gala carnival and tombola on the grounds of St. Dominic Church, 5909 N.W. 7 St. *Another first was realized on October 7, 1972, when the first Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (C.C.D.) classes began at Loyola School, 10375 Coral Way. They were most gracious and generous of their facilities for nearly six years. We owe them special debt of our appreciation as a parish community. *The second carnival and tombola was held on the grounds of St. Brendan Church, 8725 S.W. 32 Street, from February 16-18, 1973. Like the first carnival, the second provided another opportunity for the various elements of our community at St. Agatha Church to become better acquainted. At the same time, it proved to be a successful money raising event that provided the new parish with necessary funds to begin other church-related programs. *Another memorable event took place on November 17, 1973, and this was held on the grounds of St. John M. Vianney College Seminary, 2900 S.W. 87 Avenue. Just as the carnivals and tombolas served to bring the American and Latin cultures together, the serving of various foods, centering around the roasted pig and other Latin dishes, added to bring about many happy moments between the two cultural backgrounds. *On January 27, 1974, there was announced the beginning of the first phase of the parish Building Fund Drive Campaign. This engendered new hope to the parishioners who were growing anxious for specific news that a new church building would soon be built. A temporary sign was erected at the parish property site on June 22, 1974, across from Florida International University, on S.W. 107 Avenue. *On August 1, 1974, a simple cross was erected on top of the parish sign. The cross was handmade and painted in bright luminescent green, making it visible to anyone traveling along busy S.W. 107 Avenue. *St. John M. Vianney College Seminary was again the site of the famous and wonderfully accepted Bible Vacation Journey, held August 5-9, 1974. It was a week with the Lord in which all communed with Him in a special way. Students and all, were treated to a spiritual meal featuring discussions on the Sacred Scripture. *There later followed, on September 26, 1974, the Bible Awareness Joyful Hour. These were treatises in seminar form on the life, words and gifts of the Lord Christ. *Another highlight in 1974 was the Vatican II Documentary series. These discussions were held at Loyola School, 10375 Coral Way, from December 3-17, 1974.
*On October 2, 1975, the Building of
Christian Community series took place. This was a three week program
held at St. John M. Vianney College Seminary. *On March 1, 1976, still further joy came to the parish. The Parish Center location was made available to the parish at the Tamiami Mall, 8768 S.W. 8 Street. It helped to provide daily and Saturday evening Vigil Masses, along with a place for parish socials and meetings. *St. Agatha Church was honored in a special way on December 5, 1976, when Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy, D.D., then Coadjutor Archbishop, visited and presided at the Masses in the Auditorium. *Fittingly, the good news that permission was granted by Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll to build our church was received on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1976. How happy our Community of Faithful became, and as if overnight a new spirit of hope in the parish prevailed. *The long awaited ceremony of groundbreaking for the new church occurred on Sunday, February 20, 1977, with Monsignor David E. Bushey presiding at this memorable parish event. High winds, which kicked up clouds of dust, added to the festive occasion, as those who had played an important role in the period leading up to this historical moment stepped forward and broke ground with golden shovels. Speech making was brief but inspiring as usual, and it was the specially erected tent, flapping loudly in the wind, that seemed to have the most to say on this long-awaited occasion. Refreshments followed the ceremony and official picture taking, and then each member had a chance to eat a bit of soil that would one day soon become St. Agatha Church. Guts of wind continued to kick up clouds of dust with evening coming on. *On March 11, 1977, a memorable Friday, Fr. William L. O'Dea, the Pastor, joined the wrecking crew, donned a hard hat to get to the work at hand. Many happy parishioners were on hand, along with the contractor, architect and Father Angel Vizcarra, O.P.; demolition was under way. A bit of frolicking and many happy exchanges of beautiful words took place, as the serious work of removing heavy foundations and walls of existing buildings on the property site proceeded on schedule. There followed what seemed an eternity to all the parish, as parishioners become agonized over the construction of their new church facilities. *On June 21, 1977 Father Francisco Acosta, B.A., was appointed first Associate of St. Agatha and Father Louis C. Roberts, M.A. (Librarian at St. John M. Vianney College Seminary) non-resident priest. *Our Parish Directress of Religious Education, C.C.D., was Mary I. Ahnemann, B.A. Our Parish Secretary was Rita Moeller and our Parish Housekeeper Rosa Mae Wester.
*June 27, 1978 Fr. William L. O'Dea was officially appointed as St. Agatha Catholic Church first Pastor. On July 4, 1979, Fr. O'Dea was appointed Pastor of the Holy Spirit Church in Lantana, Florida (Diocese of Palm Beach).
*June 1978-1981. The Reverend Father Pedro Luis Perez was named second
Pastor.
*January 7, 2004 at 2:00 pm, our Fourth
Pastor, now His Excellency Felipe de Jesus Estevez, D.D., was ordained
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami at the Cathedral of Saint Mary,
Miami, Florida. His Episcopal motto is: "In finem dilexit
eos" - "He loved them to the end" (Jn. 13, 1). On January
11, 2004 he celebrated in our Parish the 11:00 am Mass in English and
1:00 pm Mass in Spanish as the new appointed Auxiliary Bishop.
Following the Mass, a grand and elegant reception was offered in his honor
at our Parish Hall. |
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