Catholic history takes center stage at the Thursday opening of the Archbishop John C. Favalora Archive & Museum at St. Thomas University in northwest Miami-Dade.

The facility will hold the archives of the Archdiocese of Miami, St. Thomas University and the National Office for Black Catholics, among other institutions. Materials include more than 200,000 photographs and 2,000 video recordings, copies of the newspapers The Voice and La Voz, and hundreds of thousands of documents of recorded history of Catholicism in Florida. ''Cuban exiles play a huge part, including the late Msgr. Bryan Walsh and the Peter Pan flights,'' says St. Thomas chief marketing officer Marivi Prado, referring to the Catholic Church-sponsored exodus of Cuban children in the early 1960s.

Opening celebration is at 7 p.m. Thursday. The archives are on the second floor of the Main Library at the campus, 16401 NW 37th Ave., Miami Gardens.

-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO

LECTURE SERIES

Speaking of St. Thomas, Justo J. Sánchez, art critic and a professor at the university, is hosting during October a lecture series on European art history and its influence in the New World at Cremata Fine Art in Little Havana. The six lectures cost $90. Call or e-mail for the schedule. Cremata is at 1646 SW Eighth St., Miami; 305-644-3315; Cremata@CremataFineArt.com or rcremata@bellsouth.net.

-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO

GOT A SCRIPT?

The Lavender Footlights Festival is looking for a few good scripts.

Full-length and short plays that have never been produced in Florida are eligible for the festival, which will run Feb. 28-March 2.

Writers can submit up to three plays with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender themes. This year, artistic director Ryan Capiro is looking for plays that deal with sexual and cultural diversity, pieces that address Latino and Caribbean themes, and scripts that focus on unusual or controversial issues.

The deadline is Dec. 1, and each playwright must submit a cover letter with return address and contact information, plus a statement affirming that the play hasn't been produced in Florida; a copy of the script (it will not be returned), and a one-page synopsis of full-length plays. Send materials to The Living Arts Trust, Attn: Ryan Capiro, P.O. Box 942107, Miami, FL 33194-2107. Visit www.lavenderfootlights.org for more information.

-- CHRISTINE DOLEN

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