For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.
John 3:16
We are a community of believers, members of the mystical Body of Christ, whose death and resurrection redeemed the world.
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Bishop John Noonan’s E-scroll is a weekly electronic newsletter meant to enkindle a deeper faith in the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters, form leaders in Christ, and showcase the harmonization of ministries to the mission of the Catholic Church.
Subscribe Today!
Bishop John Noonan’s E-scroll is a weekly electronic newsletter meant to enkindle a deeper faith in the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters, form leaders in Christ, and showcase the harmonization of ministries to the mission of the Catholic Church.
14
Parishes
0
Missions
8
Schools
Brevard County
The Titusville area is one of the oldest Catholic mission areas along the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Mission priest (also known as the circuit rider) Father John F. O’Boyle served all along this area, known as the East Coast Missions, with his headquarters and the site of the first Catholic church building in Brevard County
being the mission of St. Teresa in 1892.
Before a church was built for Our Savior in Cocoa Beach, Mass was once held at Jake’s Bowling Alley. Catholic families called it “St. Jake’s by the Sea.”
Brevard County is known as the home of the “Space Coast” parishes, since the space industry grew in the area, beginning in 1940 with the construction of Naval
Air Station Banana River, now Patrick Space Force Base. The area boomed with
growth, adventure, and excitement as Catholic families poured into the area for
jobs at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Local parishes and schools
eagerly followed space missions and prayed for the success of launches and for
the lives of the astronauts.
8
Parishes
2
Missions
1
Schools
Lake County
In the 1890s Catholics in Eustis traveled to Sanford to participate in the celebrations of Mass. In 1906. Msgr. Michael Fox took over the “Eustis station” while remaining pastor of St. James in Orlando. In 1911, the Eustis church became a mission of All Souls Parish in Sanford. Property was purchased for its own church building of wood and stucco to be named St. Mary of the Lakes and was
dedicated on January 28, 1912. It was raised to parish status on June 17, 1954.
Blessed Sacrament Parish in Clermont oversees Santo Toribio Romo Mission in Mascotte.
St. Paul Parish in Leesburg oversees San Pedro Jesus Maldonado in Wildwood.
8
Parishes
3
Missions
2
Schools
Marion County
Blessed Trinity Parish in Ocala had its beginnings as St. Philip Neri Parish, a small frame church built in 1883 as a mission; it achieved parish status in 1893. A growing population gave impetus for a new church to be built in 1922 and the parish name was changed to Blessed Trinity. It oversees the mission churches of Christ the King in Citra, and Misión Católica La Guadalupano in Ocala.
Dunnellon was a mission station at the turn of the century, served by Father Dominick Bottolacio from the Ocala mission. He was assisted by Benedictine priests from St. Leo Abbey who eventually took over. A church building was erected in 1912 and dedicated as St. John the Baptist on January 4, 1914. Due to an economic downturn during World War I, the parish eventually closed. It was canonically restored as a mission in 1966 and as a parish in 1977.
Our Lady of the Springs Parish in Ocala oversees St. Joseph of the Forest Mission in Silver Springs.
15
Parishes
1
Missions
11
Schools
Orange County
On June 17, 1881, land was purchased in Maitland “on Lake Eulalia near the Park House, a plush resort hotel between Park Lake and Lake Catherine” to build a church to serve the central Florida area. It was named the Church of the Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Baptisms began to be recorded in January 1882. Due to the growth of Orlando quickly surpassing the Maitland area, it became more feasible to locate the parish center for central Florida there, and St. James (later Cathedral) was established in 1885. Anticipating a need for a church there, land for this parish was purchased in 1881.
St. Charles Borromeo Parish became the first Cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Orlando in 1968. The parish was established on March 31, 1954, with Father (later Monsignor) Charles A. Bartok assigned to be pastor and to establish a Catholic high school next to it (Bishop Moore). When a massive fire heavily damaged the church building in 1976, the Cathedral was transitioned to St. James in 1977.
St. James Cathedral was established in 1885. The first resident priest was Father Felix Prosper Swembergh who built the church there and in Sanford (All Souls). A cornerstone was laid for the church on January 23, 1887, with the name of St. James. Bishop John Moore placed Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine in Orlando in 1889 to run the school, St. Joseph’s Academy. This school operated until 1928 when it was replaced by St. James School. The Basilica of the National Shrine
9
Parishes
2
Missions
4
Schools
Polk County
Ministry to Catholics in Polk County has roots going back to 1881 when the first Catholic settler to the Winter Haven/Haines City area arrived. Jesuits priests from Tampa traveled to the area to celebrate Mass in settlers’ homes. Responding to a petition regarding their need for a priest, Father Alfred Latiolais, SJ, arrived in 1913 and by 1914 as small church was built in Winter Haven. In 1920, the Diocese of St. Augustine took over for the Jesuits. Father Michael J. Faraday served there as well as serving as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Lakeland. St. Joseph in Winter
Haven was canonically established as a parish on December 1, 1923.
The parish of St. Joseph in Lakeland dates its first Mass to 1892 when Jesuit missionaries served the area. Funds were gathered for a church named in honor of St. Joseph, and the first Mass was celebrated on April 8, 1906. St. Joseph was canonically established as a parish in December 1920 with its first resident pastor, Father Michael J. Faraday appointed on December 15.
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Bartow oversees St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Mission in Fort Meade.
St. Matthew Parish The center of population of Florida is located in Polk County, near the city of Lake Wales. Polk County is home to one public university, one state college, and four private universities.
8
Parishes
0
Missions
3
Schools
Seminole County
All Souls Parish in Sanford began as a mission of the Church of the Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maitland from 1892-1886 with Mass held at Doyle’s Livery Stable. Land was purchased in Sanford in 1887 to build a church and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1887, by Father Felix Prosper Swembergh, “dressed in a beautiful cape.” Father Patrick J. Bresnahan became the first resident priest in 1910. On January 25, 1932, the church burned to the ground, the cause unknown. Despite the fact that Sanford’s citizens keenly felt the ill effects of the Great Depression, the parishioners of All Souls rebuilt the church in
five years. The new church was dedicated on July 4, 1937.
The Maitland/Altamonte Springs area greatly
needed a church; there was none in the
immediate area after the Church of the Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary closed down and the parish center for central Florida was transferred to St. James in Orlando in 1885. In 1959, plans were developed to build a church, and, in the meantime, Mass was celebrated in a building on Maitland Avenue. Ground was broken in February 1961 for a provisional church and school. Phase one of the school and the provisional church were dedicated in October 1961. A new and larger church was built and was dedicated on April 13, 1975.
12
Parishes
2
Missions
7
Schools
Volusia County
St. Peter Parish in Deland has its beginnings in 1883 when Father (later Bishop) William Kenny arrived from Palatka to celebrate Mass. The first church was built in 1884 and dedicated on April 20. Father (later Bishop) Michael J. Curley established an Altar Society to take care of altar linens and vestments. “In those days, a washboard and flat iron heated over coals, or a cook stove were used to take care of the linens and vestments used in liturgies.” St. Peter Parish oversees the missions of St. Hubert of the Forest in Astor and San Jose in Pierson.
The Basilica of St. Paul in Daytona Beach has its beginnings in 1882 when priests traveled to Daytona Beach to celebrate Mass; until 1886 Mass was said twice a year. The area’s population grew and in 1886 the mission of St. Paul was established and overseen by St. Theresa Parish in Titusville. The first church was built in 1898. Long serving pastor Monsignor William J. Mullally arrived in 1923 and ministered there until his retirement in 1967. Among his many accomplishments, he oversaw the building of a new church which was completed in 1927 and the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day. St. Paul Parish was elevated to Minor Basilica status by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
5
Parishes
0
Missions
2
Schools
Osceola County
Holy Redeemer Parish had its beginnings when Mass was celebrated in a small
chapel built above an ice cream parlor in Kissimmee in 1901. In 1903, Monsignor
(then Father) Michael Fox was assigned the missions here and in St. Cloud while
remaining pastor of St. James in Orlando. A chapel for the Kissimmee mission was
built but the community grew quickly, and Mass began to be held in the movie
theatre on Saturday nights after the last movie was run. A new church building
was constructed and dedicated as Holy Redeemer in 1912.
Being 54.3% Hispanic, Osceola is one of three Hispanic-majority counties in Florida, owing to its large Puerto Rican American population. It also is the 12th-largest majority-Hispanic county in the nation.
2
Parishes
1
Missions
0
Schools
Sumter County
A mission church overseen by St. Paul in Leesburg opened in Bushnell in 1960. For a number of years, it was served by the “Father Joes,” three retired priests with the first name Joseph. Sumter was a slower growing county, and it was not until 1981 that the parish of St. Lawrence was canonically established with Father Andrew Wawrzycki as the first pastor. Parishioners greeted Father with a large sign: “Welcome Father Andy! What took you so long?!”
St. Lawrence in turn oversaw the mission church of St. Vincent de Paul in Wildwood beginning in 1993. The mission became canonically established as a parish on October 30, 2005.
San Pedro Jesus Maldonado Mission is overseen by St. Paul Parish in Leesburg.
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Parishes
11
Missions
38
Schools
Diocese of Orlando
As a thriving and growing community of Catholic faithful, the Diocese of Orlando represents many cultural and ethnic groups, believers of all ages, income levels and education, all united in the universal Catholic Church. We call Central Florida home, but the Catholic Church is our spiritual home where we share God’s love.