A sword from a knightly order. A sequined and beaded picture of the Virgin Mary. Red-and-white vestments from the founding bishop. A processional banner more than a century old.
Usually, Cristina Perez's students at St. Agatha Catholic School begin penning their wish lists as soon as Christmas decorations pop up at nearby International Mall. This year, Perez wanted her sixth- and seventh-graders to think about gifts a little differently.
Jewish families find ways to handle the December Dilemma: celebrating Hanukkah in the midst of Christmas.
Divine Performing Arts celebrates traditional Chinese culture through lavish numbers by dozens of colorfully dressed singers and dancers. But behind the show's beauty is a message so strong the Chinese government warned Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle not to welcome it.
For much of his life, Aram Tchividjian has had the same conversation with strangers. They all want to tell him how much they like his grandfather, evangelist Billy Graham.
Ask anyone to name their favorite Christmas-themed movie, TV episode or song and you're sure to hear a wide variety of answers. That's because there are so many options from which to choose.
It's not like it's hard to get people who don't live in Florida to come visit, but here's a delightful way to issue an invitation, sandwiched between square covers, colorfully illustrated, and chock full of fun: The Twelve Days of Christmas in Florida by Frank Remkiewicz (Sterling, $12.95, ages 3-up).
Rabbi Chaim Lipskar moved to Brickell Avenue three years ago, amid the big building boom he hoped would bring hundreds of young Jewish families near downtown Miami.
A Broadway-style biblical production on the life of Jesus starts Friday and celebrates its 25th edition with old traditions and new surprises
A survey found most young people consider themselves spiritual, but a third don't trust organized religion.
When the Diocese of Miami was created in October 1958, it included 16 southern Florida counties, 51 parishes, 65 diocesan priests and 21 religious order clergy ministering to 185,000 Catholics. Today, with the state's population explosion and the influx of immigrants, the Archdiocese has about 800,000 registered members in 111 parishes, seven missions and one national shrine in just three counties: Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe. More than 360 priests celebrate Mass in 17 languages.
When Alice St. Jean arrived from Haiti 30 years ago, she felt like a lost soul. Unable to speak English, with few resources and almost no family to help, she turned to her faith and her church. But one Sunday, after attending a Creole-language Mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami, she knew she was home.
Monsignor Noel T. Fogarty ministered to the Catholics of South Florida before there was even an Archdiocese of Miami. Back in 1957, the young seminarian from Ireland was recruited to serve the families of a small parish in the resort town of Miami Beach. The archdiocese was created a year later.
Once a week, Luisa Ferrandiz gets on the phone to pray for seminarians who are studying to become priests. She has been doing this for 20 years. She and the hundreds of other elderly Catholics who participate in La Liga Orante Vocacional, the Vocational Prayer League, believe the small but steady increase in seminary students over the past years may be a result of their many prayers.
Sister Lucia Ceccotti never expected to stay in Miami. She and the Mother General of the Sisters of St. Joseph Benedict Cottelongo had come here at the invitation of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll to discuss the possibility of opening a school for people with developmental disabilities in the then-new Archdiocese of Miami.
Soon after completing a weekend spiritual retreat, Tom Comerford decided he needed to change his life. He asked the then-pastor of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, David Russell, what he could do to help. Russell suggested he head up a new ministry that paired affluent parishes with less-fortunate ones.
Sister Kathleen Donnelly, the longest serving school principal in the Archdiocese of Miami, started teaching in the middle of the Great Depression -- before television, before cellphones, before computers. She was 17 years old.
Tuesday marks Diwali, one of the most important Hindu holidays. Nobody keeps track of the number of Hindus in South Florida, but community leaders estimate the group to be more than 50,000.
The Christian Community Development Association chose Miami because of the city's diversity.
Congregation celebrates sanctuary after three-year fundraising effort
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