St. Patrick Catholic Church was the first Catholic parish on Miami Beach. The church is located at 3716 Garden Avenue,

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

33141. Father Roberto Cid is pastor.

History

Father William Barry was born in Ireland and ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Baltimore for the

Diocese of St. Augustine The Diocese of St. Augustine () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church, located in the northeastern section of Florida in the United States. It includes the cities of St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Gainesville. Th ...

in June 1910. He was a pastor at four Churches and in May 1926 transferred to Miami Beach to found St. Patrick Church. He remained pastor until 1966 prior to his death in 1967. The first mass was celebrated in Miami Beach Gardens theater on 41st Street and Alton Road on Sunday, May 13th, 1926. Carl G. Fisher, a non-Catholic, donated five polo stables to Father Barry for use as a church and school for St. Patrick Parish. On June 2, 1926, the first mass was held in a refurbished stable. After the September 17, 1926 hurricane, Father Barry and a committee of parishioners chose a site of twelve lots between 39th and 40th streets for a new church, rectory, convent,

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

, recreation hall, and auditorium. On February 22, 1928, the cornerstone for the church was laid. The church was dedicated on February 3, 1929. The seating capacity is 700. In 1942, Miami Beach became host to an OCS Army base. Local hotels and motels were taken over by hundreds of thousands of servicemen. Father Barry allowed the army to use all parish facilities.

St. Patrick Catholic Church Pastors

* Rev. William Barry (1926-1966) * Rev. Msgr. James J. Walsh (1966-1971) * Rev. Rene H. Gracida (1971-1972) * Rev. Joseph P. Cronin (1972-1981) * Rev. James P. Murphy (1981-1996) * Rev. Msgr. John Vaughan (1996-2012) * Rev. Roberto Cid (2012-Present)

External links

St. Patrick Church Miami Beach website

References

Religious buildings and structures in Miami Beach, Florida Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Roman Catholic churches in Florida Churches in Miami-Dade County, Florida 1929 establishments in Florida Churches completed in 1929 {{Florida-RC-church-stub