About Corpus Christi · Miami, Florida
Corpus Christi Catholic Parish is a bilingual (English/Spanish) Catholic community in the Allapattah/Wynwood area of Miami, Florida, founded on December 12, 1941, by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley when the entire state of Florida still belonged to the Diocese of St. Augustine. Today it operates as one mother church with five mission churches spread across the surrounding barrios — a structure the parish calls 'six sending-forths' — serving predominantly Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Central American immigrant communities. The parish is pastored by Father José Luis Menéndez, is part of the Archdiocese of Miami, and runs an extensive live-broadcasting apostolate, RCIA, youth ministry, and cultural/medical outreach.
- Established
- 1941
- Patron
- Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ)
- Rector
- Father José Luis Menéndez
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Miami
Why belong here
Corpus Christi is one of the most mission-driven parishes in the Archdiocese of Miami, deliberately organized as one mother church and five mission churches — San Juan Bautista, Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, San Francisco y Santa Clara, La Milagrosa, and San Roberto Belarmino — to bring the Gospel directly into Wynwood, Allapattah, Edgewater, and surrounding barrios. Worshippers can pray before the Blessed Sacrament 9 AM–10 PM daily, take RCIA in English or Spanish, watch Sunday Mass and the youth variety show 'Young World' online, and join ministries ranging from lectors and music to social outreach and a parish Health Center. It is a parish where Mass is celebrated in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and where the historic 1959 Mother Church — with its Meštrović crucifix and granite altar — is paired with a colonial-art Chapel of La Merced and an active broadcasting apostolate.
Mass times at Corpus Christi
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday–Friday at 11:30 AM (bilingual, 30 minutes before the noon Mass)
- Monday–Friday at 6:30 PM (bilingual, 30 minutes before the 7:00 PM Mass)
Adoration times
- Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM, in the Church (Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, with parishioner sign-up pledges)
Our History
Founded December 12, 1941, by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley, Corpus Christi celebrated its very first Mass in the Strand Theater just one week after Pearl Harbor. The Mango Manor — a horticultural landmark built when the surrounding land was still mangrove swamp — became the first rectory. After four years of fundraising in a wartime economy, parishioners completed a provisional church/school complex and convent in 1947, then dedicated a permanent church in 1959, today the Mother Church. When I-95 and State Road 112 cut through the neighborhood in the 1960s, the parish reinvented itself as one mother church plus five mission churches to serve the new Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Central American immigrant communities — a model it calls 'six sending-forths.'
- First Mass: December 14, 1941, at the Strand Theater
- Provisional church/school + convent completed 1947
- Permanent Mother Church dedicated 1959
- First mission (San Juan Bautista) established in Wynwood
- San Roberto Belarmine merged into Corpus Christi as the fifth mission in 2009
- 75th anniversary celebrated 2016–2017
Mother Church — Architecture and Chapel
The Mother Church is built in the shape of a Latin cross, with a main corridor more than 120 feet long and 45 feet high, seating roughly 1,000 people. The altar is a single 12-foot block of granite, presided over by a monumental crucified Christ carved by Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. Behind the altar is the tabernacle, flanked by side chapels to the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. Adjacent to the church is the colonial-style Chapel of La Merced (formerly Museo Perú), which the parish describes as housing 'the largest collection of colonial art in the United States.'
- Latin-cross plan, ~120 ft long × 45 ft high, capacity ~1,000
- Meštrović crucifix over a 12-ft solid-granite altar
- Side chapels: Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph
- Baptismal font next to the presbytery, suitable for baptism by immersion
- Adjacent Chapel of La Merced — colonial-style, large colonial-art collection
The Five Missions
Corpus Christi describes itself as 'not one parish, but six missions — six sending-forths.' Each mission serves a distinct immigrant community and offers Mass in the language and rhythms of its neighborhood, an arrangement the parish credits to the vision of longtime pastor Father José Luis Menéndez in the late 1980s.
- San Juan Bautista — 3116 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 33127 (Wynwood, Puerto Rican); Sunday 6:00 PM Spanish
- Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia — 1779 NW 28th St., Miami 33142 (Allapattah, Dominican; shared with archdiocesan Radio Paz); Sunday 9:30 AM Spanish
- San Francisco y Santa Clara — 402 NE 29th St., Miami 33137 (Edgewater, Central American); Saturday 7:00 PM Portuguese, Sunday 10:30 AM English, Sunday 12:30 PM Spanish
- La Milagrosa — 1860 NW 18th Terrace, Miami 33125 (Puerto Rican); Saturday 6:00 PM Spanish
- San Roberto Belarmino — 3405 NW 27th Ave., Miami 33142 (merged 2009); Sunday 12:30 PM Spanish
Liturgical Ministries
Parishioners serve the liturgy through a full roster of traditional ministries — altar servers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion (including to the sick), ushers, music ministers for Sunday Masses and special events, and a sacristy/decor team that maintains the sacred vessels and vestments. Mission choirs serve each of the five mission communities.
- Altar Servers
- Lectors
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Ushers
- Music Ministry (incl. mission choirs)
- Sacristy & Decor
Faith Formation & RCIA
Adult catechesis is led by Deacon Tony Pérez, with RCIA sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM in both English and Spanish. The parish also offers ongoing theological formation on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 PM for Catholics who want to deepen their service to the Church. The parish's catechesis program for children and youth, long directed by Claretian Sister Carmen Álvarez, enrolls roughly 500 students.
- RCIA / RICA — Tue & Thu 7:00 PM (English & Spanish)
- Adult Formation — Tue & Thu 8:00 PM
- Catechesis for children and youth (~500 students)
- Director: Deacon Tony Pérez; longtime coordinator: Claretian Sister Carmen Álvarez
Broadcasting & Media Apostolate
Corpus Christi runs one of the more extensive parish broadcasting apostolates in the Archdiocese of Miami. Sunday Masses (9:00 AM English and 11:00 AM Spanish) are live-streamed and archived on the parish YouTube channel. Other productions include 'Young World' (a youth variety show on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 8:00 PM), 'Vidas de Santos / Vidas Ejemplares' (daily saint stories at 6:00 PM, Spanish), parish interviews with Father Federico, and a Cultural Center playlist of artistic presentations.
- Live Sunday Masses (English and Spanish)
- Young World — youth variety show, 1st & 3rd Wed at 8:00 PM
- Vidas de Santos / Vidas Ejemplares — daily 6:00 PM (Spanish)
- Interviews with Fr. Federico — Sundays after Mass
- Cultural Center — artistic performances
Social Action, Health Center & Cultural Center
Beyond worship, the parish runs a Social Action / Charities ministry, a parish Health Center providing medical care to the community, and a Cultural Center promoting the arts — all framed by the parish's mission to be 'salt and light' (Mt 5:13–16). Father Menéndez has described the parish's wider vision as opening itself 'to the needs of our people, not only because of the difficulties they had in getting here, but also because people like to celebrate the liturgy with their own rhythms and songs.'
- Social Action / Charities ministry
- Parish Health Center
- Cultural Center
- Outreach to predominantly Hispanic immigrant communities across Wynwood, Allapattah, and Edgewater
Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by longtime pastor Father José Luis Menéndez, a Spanish-born priest who previously served as chaplain to Encuentros Juveniles and is coordinator of the governing board of the Cuban Exile Spiritual Leaders in the USA. Msgr. Oscar Castañeda serves as parochial vicar while working as a chaplain at nearby Jackson Memorial Hospital. Deacon Tony Pérez directs the adult catechesis / RCIA program. Father Federico hosts the parish's broadcasting interviews.
- Father José Luis Menéndez — Pastor
- Msgr. Oscar Castañeda — Parochial Vicar / Jackson Memorial chaplain
- Deacon Tony Pérez — Director of Adult Catechesis (RCIA)
- Father Federico — Broadcasting/Interviews
- Sister Carmen Álvarez, M.C. (Claretian) — Catechesis, RCIA, mission choirs (40+ years)
Visit, Register & Contact
Parishioners and visitors are invited to register online through the parish website. The parish office is open Monday through Friday 9:00 AM–6:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM–1:00 PM, at 3220 NW 7th Avenue, Miami, FL 33127. Phone: (305) 635-1331. Email: [email protected]. The parish territory stretches from NW 32nd Avenue west to Biscayne Bay east, and from NW 20th Street south to NW 54th Street north — anyone in that footprint is invited to worship at the Mother Church or at any of the five mission churches that best fit their neighborhood.
- Address: 3220 NW 7th Avenue, Miami, FL 33127
- Phone: (305) 635-1331
- Email: [email protected]
- Office: Mon–Fri 9:00 AM–6:00 PM; Sat 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
- Parish boundaries: NW 32nd Ave to Biscayne Bay; NW 20th St to NW 54th St
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father José Luis Menéndezlate 1980s–present
Long-serving pastor who shaped the modern 'six missions' evangelization model; previously chaplain to Encuentros Juveniles; coordinator of the governing board of the Cuban Exile Spiritual Leaders in the USA.