VIERA  |  It was standing room only in the Brevard County Commissioners’ chambers Sept. 11, 2001. That’s when St. John the Evangelist Parish celebrated its first Mass to meet the needs of Catholics in the new, burgeoning community of Viera.

Bishop Norbert Dorsey asked the Congregation of Holy Cross Fathers to serve the community and Father Laurence Olszewski became the first pastor. What started with 150 families has grown into a parish of more than 3,100 families through the help of Father Brad Beaupré and many others.

Daily Mass was celebrated at nearby Faith Viera Lutheran Church thanks to Pastor Ronald Meyr.

“We’re on the same team. It was a joy for us,” Father Meyr recalled. He had told Father Olszewski, “It’s not our church. It’s God’s church and if we can help another part of the family of Christ, we’re more than happy to.”

In those early days there were many who didn’t want to go to church in a government building, or even in the parish center — the first building on the property. But not Pat and Mike Yarnold. Pat became an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and Mike a lector.

“We all gave and it didn’t matter. It’s not the building that mattered. It’s the people that mattered,” said Pat, who added although the parish has grown beyond what she imagined and it can sometimes seem overwhelming. “(The people’s) heart is still there, and they still love you and they still pray for you and that means a lot.”

Misty Huff agreed, recalling how welcoming the parish was and is.

“They were concerned about each other,” she said. “They were always looking after each other. They were always volunteering with each other and pitching right in and making it a community.”

Among those pitching in were George and Cis Franzen. Cis believes the Holy Spirit puts you where you need to be. “That’s when you learn the love of community, the love of Jesus, and you build a relationship with Jesus,” she said.

“It’s not your standard church,” George added. “The Holy Spirit is here. You just don’t see a flame. You feel it. I can feel the Holy Spirit. I’m expecting to see fire there one of these times.”

That community gathered Sept. 14, 2025, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,  to celebrate its silver jubilee. Bishop John Noonan presided with concelebrants several priests and deacons, including Holy Cross Father John Britto Antony, pastor, Holy Cross Father Emmanuel Kallarackal, vicar general of the order, and Salesian of Don Bosco Father Martin Joseph, parochial vicar.

Father Antony shared the theme of a journey of grace, faith, and hope for the jubilee year at the opening Mass celebration. An excerpt of the beautiful prayer he wrote reads, “Lord, the mission you have entrusted to us is not from our own merit, but purely from Your grace. All we are and all we have is sheer gift — blessings poured from Your generous heart. We join the Psalmist in praising You: Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your mercy and faithfulness (Ps 115:1).

“We wanted to capture the past, present and the future,” he said. “Grace meaning, when we started it was not in our plans. It just worked out that God wanted us to start here. The second point is the faith of the people. We wanted to show how the faith of the people continues to live among us, bringing us to this place because they trusted God’s invitation to follow Him in this place. Our hope is placed on God’s favor to us that the work He has begun continues to flourish.”

Opening the Mass was a procession which included the arrival of the eternal flame from the Holy Land from the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where “the Word became flesh” and has burned continuously for more than 1000 years. It is also referred to as the “Peace Light” — a symbol of unity.

Jason and Yleem Poblete, of the Order of Malta, brought the flame to the parish in the hopes of reminding parishioners how they are centrally united in Christ the Lord and through prayer. Yleem said, “For the day of the opening Mass to be the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, it reached into the deepest corners of our soul to think that we’re bringing the beginning of salvation on the day we are signifying the completion of God’s plan of salvation for us.”

The couple hopes the Peace Light will bring pilgrims to the parish, foster evangelization, and be a part of Baptisms, weddings, funerals, and perhaps even family events—an eternal reminder, “Showing our tradition and even how we worship and can bring people together,” Jason said.

“As we welcome the light of Christ, the Peace Light, it calls to mind the Gospel of John,” Bishop Noonan said, quoting Scripture, “’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word is with God. And the Word was God.’ You, the people of St. John the Evangelist, are that reminder of the peace of the Word of God.”

He recalled how the Diocese of Orlando originally purchased the property for the church only to discover it was not suitable and how the people of the parish came together to find a new home for St. John the Evangelist. Thanking the many who are still present and those who have passed, he spoke of the pastors from the Congregation of the Holy Cross and how through the community’s hard work, faith, and commitment, the parish has grown physically – with the building of their parish center, sanctuary, grotto, Stations of the Cross, and rectory – and communally.

“You the people have taken an active role in the life of this Church. You’ve become part of this community, a living reminder of what it is to be a Christian,” said Bishop Noonan. “You have gone out into the world and lived the words of the Gospel. That is why this community has grown and is known. Not just because it is called John the Evangelist, but because you have become the evangelists, bringing Christ to others.”

After Mass, parishioners and guests had the opportunity to venerate the crucifix. “A challenge is placed before us,” the bishop said. “Salvation is not a passive gift that can be received by simply by looking at a crucifix. It is a gift that needs to be constantly received by us. We are expected to work at transforming our lives through grace, faith and hope. That is the model of the Holy Cross community. That is your model. May the Lord continue to bring His light, His hope and His love, not only into your lives, but into your community, that you can become a living reminder of the Word of God, alive and well.”