As
the oldest catholic parish in South Florida, St. Mary, Star
of the Sea has always been an important foothold of Christianity
in America. During the early missionary years of Florida
as a Spanish Territory, Key West probably fell under the
auspices of the Diocese of Havana, Cuba, which would have
been the closest diocese with ties to Key West. These early
settlers on the island were mostly migratory fishermen from
Cuba who would fish the virgin reefs of the keys then return
to Cuba to sell their catches. There are indications that
Key West might have been established as a parish as early
as 1724, staffed by a Cuban priest. However the unpredictable
nature of the key’s Indians and lack of government
protection against the English raiders from the Carolinas,
forced the missionaries to return to Cuba in 1727.
In 1819 the United States annexed the territory of Florida
and soon a small Catholic community formed in Key West.
With the buildup of military and an increasing number of
Catholics on the island there was an obvious the need for
a church and a priest so Bishop Portier sent Father J. A.
Corcoran, an Irishman and a newly ordained priest, to Key
West where he remained for several years.
In 1851 Father John F. Kirby arrived and built the first
Catholic Church on the island, on the corner of Duval and
Eaton Street. It was dedicated by the Right Rev. Bishop
Francis Xavier Gartland on the 26th of February, 1852. Bordered
by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, it was given the
title of “St. Mary, Star of the Sea.” Since
it first shed its light in Key West it has, like a star
of the sea to the wandering mariner, been a star of hope
and comfort in times of despair and sorrow, and a star of
joy to those who have lived in its teachings.
The total population of Key West at this time was about
2,000; of whom 300 were Catholic. This church had among
its early congregation many black families, some free and
some slaves, who were assigned a part of the church separated
from the whites. The fact that black people were members
of the parish was unique to the Catholic parish as most
of the other churches on the island maintained a Whites
only congregation. Among the earlier parishioners of the
island were members of the following families: Alderslade,
Baldwin, Bowyer, Clark, Connell, Cook, Driscoll, English,
Fagan, Gandolfo, Gannon, Grillon, Gunn, Haley, Logan, Madden,
Mallory, Mead, Mulherin, Noonan, Savelli, Wall, and Walton.
In November of 1852, Father Kirby was replaced by Father
Joseph N. Brogard who was the first appointed resident pastor.
With him during 1852 was Father Edward Quigley, and in 1853
came Father J.T. O’Neil. Father Brogard was also given
charge of the mission churches in Tampa and in Tallahassee;
a feat made possible by the Gulf Coast Schooner. In 1852
or 1853, a tower with a small bell was erected on the church
grounds, and persons of all faiths listened regularly for
the mellow sound of the Angelus, rung three times daily.
Pope Pius IX created the Vicariate Apostolic of Florida
in January of 1857 and named Augustin Verot the Vicar. As
a Vicariate, Florida was separated from the Diocese of Savannah
and given a more or less independent character, although
it remained a missionary district. At 53, he became the
first prelate from the American Church to reside in Florida,
arriving on June 1, 1858, in the former Spanish colonial
city of St. Augustine. In Florida, he found three parishes,
seven mission chapels (only one of which was in South Florida
- Key West’s St. Mary, Star of the Sea Chapel), no
schools, no convents, and no ecclesial social service institutions.
He had three priests, two Frenchmen of the Society of Mercy
and an Irish diocesan priest.
After the Civil War, Bishop Verot was faced with the material,
financial and spiritual reconstruction of the Church. Verot
planned a spiritual reconstruction by two means: The establishment
of private Catholic schools for blacks and the introduction
of parish missions. Bishop Verot visited Key West on many
different occasions, and during his first visit to the island,
just after Christmas of 1865, Bishop Verot sailed to Fort
Jefferson on Dry Tortugas and said mass for the prisoners.
Following the Civil War the fort had been used as a federal
penitentiary and one of the inmates who made his confession
to the Bishop was none other than Dr. Samuel A. Mudd. Dr.
Mudd had been imprisoned for complicity in the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln.
The year 1868 became a landmark for the church in South
Florida when at the request of Bishop Verot, five Sisters
of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary arrived from Montreal,
Canada, and established the first Catholic school in South
Florida. These good ladies, Sister Superior M. Euphrasie;
Sister M. Octavie; Sister M. Angelique; Sister M. Pierre
and Sister M. Monique endured a very tempestuous nine day
voyage on the merchant ship “Sedwidge”, which
was bound for Texas. The Convent of Mary Immaculate, the
oldest educational institution in South Florida, had its
humble beginnings in a framed government building, which
was an abandoned Civil War barracks being used by locals
as a goat shed. The school for girls was opened on November
9th with twenty-six young women enrolled. In I869 Father
Allard established a parochial school for white boys supervised
by the Fathers and taught by a layman, Mr. Chappik. It was
followed the next year with St. Francis Xavier’s school
for black children. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus
and Mary also opened a school for Cuban girls. It was dedicated
to St. Theresa with Sr. Irene serving as their first teacher.
On January 14, 1875 the Sisters of the Holy names of Jesus
and Mary began the construction of the Convent of Mary Immaculate,
a building of native coral rock, the main part of which
cost around $35,000. To save their money for building costs,
the sisters would work on the grounds themselves during
their “leisure hours”. The architect for the
convent was an Irishman by the name of William Kerr. He
had been brought to Key West to design and build the different
forts around the Island. He also was to later build the
county courthouse, city hall and the customs house. Resembling
a building Kerr had known in France, the convent walls were
constructed of native stone quarried from government property
on the island. It was built on about eight and a half acres
of property facing Rocky Road. (Rocky Road was later renamed
Division Street and then finally Truman Avenue.) The land
was sold to the Sisters by the heirs of John P. Baldwin,
for $1,000, an amount agreed upon to cover the cost of attorney
fees and probate. Construction on the convent started on
January 14, 1875 and was finally completed in 1876 and at
that time had 300 students.
By 1879 there were so many Cubans in Key West seeking freedom
from Spanish rule, that a Cuban chapel, Nuestra Señora
de la Caridad del Cobre, (Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre),
was erected for them on Duval Street, between Division (Truman
Avenue) and Virginia Street. The chapel was popular as long
as there were priests available to staff it, but by 1898
it was closed. It was moved later to its present position
on Windsor Lane, behind the present St. Mary, Star of the
Sea church on the grounds of the rectory and converted into
the parish hall. It is now known as St. Ann’s Hall
and is presently the parish gift shop.
In 1881, the St. Joseph College for white boys was established
by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary to replace
the boys’ school the priests had started back in 1869.
Native vocations were so rare that in 1898 Bishop Moore
invited the Jesuits from New Orleans to take over the missions
of South Florida.
Graduation exercises for the class of 1898 of the Convent
of Mary Immaculate were being held in the San Carlos Opera
House that night of February 15, 1898, when word was received
here of the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor,
Cuba. This event ignited the Spanish American War, which
was to last less than four months and bring an end to the
Spanish rule in Cuba. For the next two weeks many of the
Maine’s victims, the injured and the dead were being
returned to Key West. They filled the antiquated Navy Marine
Hospital and the Barracks Hospital at the Army Post. Mother
Mary Florentine, the Superior of the convent, approached
Commander James M. Forsyth, and placed the Convent of Mary
Immaculate, two school buildings and the Sisters’
personal services as nurses, at the disposition of the naval
authorities.
On the 20th of September, 1901, the church that was erected
in 1852, by Father Kirby, on the lot on the southwest side
of Duval Street, between Eaton and Fleming Streets, was
destroyed by fire. Every trace of arson was present, as
the heart of the fire was in the very center of the organ.
Mass thereafter was said in the convent music hall, one
of the buildings put up on the convent grounds by the U.S.
Government, for a hospital during the Spanish-American war.
Records on file at the Monroe County Court House show that
on October 25, 1901, Father Friend S.J., purchased from
Tropical Building and Investment Company, a parcel of land
fronting 112 feet on Division Street (now Truman Avenue)
and running along Windsor Lane 488 feet. This was immediately
adjacent to the convent and its school. The sale price was
$8,000. The new Catholic church was dedicated August 20,
1905, by the Rt. Rev. W. J. Kenny, D.D., Bishop of St. Augustine.
The church’s design is reminiscent of the Ruskinian
or High Victorian Gothic style popular at the turn of the
century. Its’ character of construction is known as
Ugden steel architecture (which is a lost style today) and
is the work of Father Friend, to whose energy and ability,
the church is also indebted for financing its construction.
The beautiful stone blocks that went into its construction
were made from the coral rock dug from the ground on which
the church stands. It became the first non-wooden place
of Catholic worship in South Florida. Particular care was
taken to make the church comfortable. For this purpose high
and wide doorways were set all along the east and west walls
instead of windows. The interior of the church is on the
Byzantine style. There is a choir loft in the rear with
an organ (shipped from Massachusetts). Behind and above
the main altar is a beautiful large stained glass window,
depicting Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
This same year, 1904, the Sisters of the Holy Names of
Jesus and Mary enlarged the convent of Mary Immaculate to
nearly twice its original size. The decorative steeple was
erected on the addition to bring a balance in design between
the old and the new. Considered the handsomest educational
building in the State of Florida, it was truly a monument
to the devotion and heroism of the good women who founded
and maintained it.
The grotto containing the statues of Our Lady of Lourdes
and Bernadette was dedicated on a bright sunny day May 25,
1922, the feast of the Ascension and the 25th anniversary
of Sister Louis Gabriel’s entrance into the religious
profession of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and
Mary. Sister Louis designed this artistic structure, made
of natural rock gathered on school grounds. Contributions
that came from her many friends in the community made the
construction possible.
Sister Gabriel had survived three major storms since her
arrival in Key West on August 25, 1897, the 11 October 1909
and the 17 October 1910 hurricanes and finally the 12 September
1919 storm. Because of the devastation and heartache she
had witnessed as a result of these terrible storms, she
had a deep desire to keep Key West and its residents safe
from future storms; thus her passion to build the grotto
to seek protection from Our Blessed Mother Mary. Tradition
tells us that Sister Louis Gabriel is said to have remarked
that day, that as long as the grotto stood, “Key West
would never experience the full brunt of a hurricane.”
And as all residents can attest, there has not been a severe
storm on the island since the erection of the grotto in
1922. She died peacefully on September 13, 1948 and was
buried in the nun’s cemetery on the convent grounds.
On February 26, 1952, St. Mary Star of the Sea parish celebrated
its one hundredth anniversary since the dedication of the
first church and its resident pastor. Father Marion organized
this special event with a week long spiritual and joyful
celebration. This same year the Convent of Mary Immaculate
was renamed Mary Immaculate High School because the school
became co-educational with the first co-ed class graduating
in 1956.
In August of 1956 the Rev. Father Joseph Beaver, a native
Key Wester and former student at St. Joseph’s School,
returned to Key West as Pastor of St. Mary’s. In 1958
the church was closed for a short period while the termite
eaten floors were replaced by terrazzo and new pews were
added increasing the seating capacity from 400 to 600. The
rectory was replaced by the present modern structure in
April of 1959 and the Rev. Coleman Francis Carroll, Bishop
of Miami, came to Key West to dedicate it. This restoration
was made possible by the hard and conscientious work of
the Rev. Father Joseph Beaver.
Central air-conditioning was installed in the church in
1962 and what a blessing for the parishioners of this tropical
island. It would be a treat for many to get to mass and
cool off. In 1965 a new altar was added so that the priest
saying mass would face the congregation during the entire
ceremony. Father Beaver left his beloved island home in
1965 as he was transferred to Tampa. He had served his parish
and community exceedingly well and would be missed by everyone.
He had brought in a new era of community involvement in
the support of the church, school and parish.
Father Beaver was replaced by his assistant Father Nilon.
The new Mary Immaculate High School was built in 1966 to
upgrade the school facilities. Because of termite damage
and the extensive costs for the repairs necessary to restore
the old convent buildings, it was decided that they would
be torn down.
In 1968, Rev. John Q. Minvielle who had been in the parish
since 1966 was promoted to Pastor and served until 1970.
After 72 years of devoted service to the people of Key West,
the Jesuits turned over the Parish of St. Mary, Star of
the Sea, to the Diocese of Miami, placing it in the capable
hands of Father Charles Zinn, the previous chancellor of
the Archdiocese. In 1972, Rev. Jan Januszewski took over
the reigns of the parish. Rev. Patrick McDonald was assigned
pastor in 1974 with assistants Father Brenden Dalton and
Father Raphael Pedroso. In 1976 under the direction of the
new pastor Father David L. Punch, the altar was carpeted
and the wrought iron railings removed as was the tester
and the drapes on the altar. Father John McLaughlin was
assigned to the catholic schools.
Even though the US Census for 1970 showed Key West as the
only city in the Miami Diocese to lose population from 1960
to 1970, Bishop Coleman Carroll chose to create the new
parish of St. Bede’s in Key West. The dividing line
between the two parishes was Leon Street.
As pastor in 1977, Father Anthony J. Mulderry made the
following changes in the interior of the church. He had
the canopy over the altar removed and had the wall behind
the altar painted a simulated marble, to match the altar.
The baptismal font at the rear of the church was also removed.
He had as his assistant Father Brendan Shannon and Father
Richard Velie, who was assigned to the school. In 1979 Father
Miguel Guevara arrived as his assistant.
On June 13, 1980, the Old Island Restoration Foundation
President, Fred Cole, presented a check for $2,000 to Father
Mulderry to aid in the restoration of St. Mary’s.
The church underwent cleaning and refurbishing and a protective
coating was put on the exterior of the church.
St. Mary’s School was moved from its location between
Simonton and Duval to the Convent grounds. It occupied the
renovated buildings in the rear of the High School which
were no longer being used. The old St. Joseph / St. Francis
Xavior property was then sold.
Father John O’Leary became pastor in 1982 and during
the year removed six rows of pews to extend the sanctuary
out into the church. He also had the entire sanctuary carpeted.
The side altars of Our Lady de Cobre and the Infant of Prague
were removed and the statues were placed in the rear of
the church. His assistants were, Father Richard Monaghan,
O. Carm., and Father Michael Brosnan, CSSR. Father Dan Fagen
was assigned to the School. In 1983, Father Daniel Jensen
MM., arrived to assist Father O’Leary along with Deacon
John Noonan.
After 115 years, the services of the Sisters of the Holy
Names of Jesus and Mary in Key West ended with the departure
of the last nun, Sister Dolores Wehle. With regrets to the
community of Key West, Sister Virginia Dunn, S.N.J.M. the
Provincial Director, announced that due to staffing problems,
the Sisters of the Holy Names, would not be able to continue
their mission on the island.
Father Valerian Alonso, S.J., visited us and served the
parish for a short time in 1984. In 1985 Father John J.
Boyle spent time with the parish and in 1986 we were blessed
by the visit of Father Frank Gallogly, OSA., who came several
times to visit our community. His spirituality and love
endeared him to many in our parish.
Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy ordained Key West resident
Kirby McClain, as a Permanent Deacon of the Catholic Church,
in a special ceremony at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Parish
Church, on May 4, 1986. He became the first deacon in our
parish’s history.
The Archdiocese decided to close the High School in 1986,
although there were many signs that this was going to happen
over the last five years, never the less the actuality was
still a shock to the parish.
In 1987 the Very Rev. Eugene M. Quinlan became pastor of
St. Mary’s. As the new pastor, he had the difficult
job of pulling together a parish which had suffered many
pains over the past decade. Renovations to the church which
removed the wrought iron testers, the baptismal fount, altar
railings and precious statutes from the side altars, were
hard for many of the older parishioners to endure. Now rumors
were rampant that St. Bede’s was to be closed and
become a mission parish. The parish was in turmoil and in
need of strong leadership and a healing heart. Father Quinlan
combined traditional authority with a soft touch and was
able to accomplish a great deal in a very short time. He
brought the parish together and he listened with his heart.
He had the stature to sway the Archdiocese in many matters
and appease the wounds of many parishioners. His assistant
was Father Edward J. Rizzo in 1987 and in 1988 he had the
lovable Abbot Gregory Roettger OSB., and Father Mark Mages,
OSB.
On 16 April 1988, St. Bede’s parish was merged with
the parish of St. Mary, Star of the Sea and a great healing
had begun. Fr. Quinlan had a unique ministry to AIDS patients.
He would spend many nights at the hospital with dying young
men. Even though he was not in good health himself, it never
interfered with his pastoral duties. He was instrumental
in securing the building of St. Bede’s for AIDS HELP
and served on their board for many years.
In 1989 the nuns’ burial grounds on the convent property
was moved for the second and last time. Father Quinlan had
the 18 nuns moved to a beautiful new area, next to the grotto
which they had built in the early twenties. Their tombstones
were all refinished and span one hundred years, the first
sister died in 1869 and the last to be buried there was
in 1969.
Father Quinlan was interested in restoring the church property.
He closed the chapel for a year to replace the roof and
repaint the inside. He was also successful in having St.
Mary’s church declared and listed as a National and
State Historical Site. This was followed by securing state
funds for the restoration of the church and so began a long
project to unite the parish in the restoration of St. Mary’s.
On September 18, 1991, Rev. Gerald F. McGrath was assigned
as the temporary Administrator of St. Mary Star of the Sea,
followed in a few weeks by the duties of Pastor. His installation
by Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy occurred on March 20, 1992.
His highest priority was given to the cleaning and continued
restoration of the main church building. On the feast of
the Birth of Mary, September 8, 1992, mass was celebrated
in the newly renovated Church. Archbishop McCarthy came
to officially bless the church on December 17, 1992.
Fr. McGrath began a search for some religious sisters to
staff the school. By the grace of God two Sisters, Daughters
of Divine Charity agreed to come to Key West, one as principal,
the other as a second grade teacher. This necessitated making
some renovations in the convent building. One wing was completely
renovated to make apartments for the sisters who were coming
to staff the school and the remainder of the convent was
then renovated to make private rooms for retreats and missions,
since the house would now be called the Spiritual Renewal
Center.
Fr. McGrath had contacted Fr. Bill Linhares, a Franciscan
priest in Washington, about staffing the center. An agreement
was reached with the order and Fr. Linhares began his mission
as Director of the Spiritual Renewal Center in the fall
of 1993. Joining Fr. Linhares to form a small community
of Franciscans in Key West were two Franciscan Brothers.
Brother John Kerr, TOR, was hired to serve as Director of
Religious Education in the parish. He worked hard to make
a solid program for students attending public schools and
build up the youth group.
In July of 1994, a deacon intern was assigned to the parish
as part of his preparation for the priesthood. Albert Cutie
soon won the hearts of the people and served his internship
with dignity and love. Two busloads of parishioners from
St. Mary Star of the Sea journeyed to Miami to attend his
ordination in May of 1995.
In the summer of 1995, the convent chapel was completely
renovated and re-named the Chapel of Divine Mercy. Only
a month later the parish established perpetual adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament in the Divine Mercy Chapel which
is open for prayer and Meditation 24 hours a day. Over 500
parishioners are now involved in giving “One Hour”
of their time to be in the presence of our Divine Lord once
a week.
Service to others is one of the attributed of good stewardship.
Parishioners now serve in Ministries to the Sick and Shut
ins, Prison Ministries, Family and Home Life Ministries,
the Eucharistic Ministry, as Lectors, Senior Acolytes, Volunteers
to the Homeless, Aids Ministry, Christian Education of Children,
RCIA Team and support team for Education of Adults, Bible
Study and Adult Education Classes. But the crowning glory
of all of our efforts was getting more than enough of our
people to volunteer to spend the “One Hour”
of their time a week in perpetual Adoration. “This
brings it all together,” Fr. McGrath stated, “and
all else is as nothing. The Lord is with us.”
Fr. McGrath retired to Fort Lauderdale in 2002 and Key
West welcomed its new pastor Rev. Francisco (Paco) Hernandez
on 8 April 2002. Father Paco was officially installed as
the Parish Pastor on 2 May 2003. We celebrated the
100th anniversary of the consecration of the current church
structure on 20 August 2005.
Father Paco was reassigned in November 2006, (to fill an
urgent need for a Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in
Hialeah). Father John Baker was appointed
Administrator in January 2007.
Stay tuned for more…
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