About St Cecilia · Hialeah, Florida
St. Cecilia Catholic Parish is a Spanish-speaking Catholic parish in Hialeah, Florida, part of the Archdiocese of Miami and within the Northwest Dade Deanery. Founded on June 27, 1971, the parish was named for St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, and has long served a community of Cuban exiles and Latin American immigrants. Since 2011 the parish grounds have also been home to the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary of the Neocatechumenal Way, whose priests and seminarians help run the church.
- Established
- 1971
- Patron
- St. Cecilia (patron saint of musicians)
- Rector
- Father Emanuele De Nigris
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Miami (Metropolitan Archdiocese of Miami), Northwest Dade Deanery
Why belong here
St. Cecilia is a warm, Spanish-speaking Catholic community in the heart of Hialeah with deep roots among Cuban exiles and Latin American immigrants, founded in 1971 and reopened in 2011 by Archbishop Thomas Wenski. Since then the parish has been renewed by the presence of the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary on the grounds, whose priests and seminarians lead Evening Prayer and Benediction every Sunday night and take part in local evangelization. It offers a traditional liturgical life — three Sunday Masses plus two weekday Masses, all in Spanish — combined with the missionary energy of a young international seminary.
Mass times at St Cecilia
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Evening Prayer and Benediction with the seminarians — every Sunday evening after the 6:00 PM Mass
About St. Cecilia Parish
St. Cecilia Catholic Parish is a Spanish-speaking Catholic community in the heart of Hialeah, Florida, part of the Archdiocese of Miami (Northwest Dade Deanery). It was founded on June 27, 1971, to serve a growing Catholic population of mostly Cuban exiles and Latin American immigrants, and was named for St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Since December 2011 the parish has also been home to the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, a Neocatechumenal Way seminary whose priests and seminarians share the church and its ministry.
- Founded: June 27, 1971
- Deanery: Northwest Dade
- Archdiocese: Miami
- Languages: Spanish (liturgy), with English and Italian spoken by clergy
History
Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll created the parish in 1971 and named Father Juan Antonio Lacalle as its first pastor. With no church yet, the community worshipped at Filer High School, and brought the statue of St. Cecilia to the new parish by helicopter in a procession that included a teenage Oscar Castañeda, who later became a Monsignor. Over the years the parish grew under pastors including Msgr. Pedro Luis Perez and, for 27 years, Msgr. Emiliano Ordax, who built the church and the parish hall. After Hurricane Andrew destroyed a neighboring Protestant church in 1992, the parish bought it, renovated it, and Archbishop John C. Favalora dedicated it in 1996; a daycare center also opened that year.
- 1971 — Parish founded; first Masses at Filer High School
- 1981 — Parish hall built
- 1992 — Purchased former Protestant church damaged by Hurricane Andrew
- 1996 — Archbishop Favalora dedicates the new church; daycare center opens
- 2009 — Parish closed for financial reasons and merged with St. John the Apostle
- 2011 — Reopened by Archbishop Wenski; Redemptoris Mater Seminary established on site
Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary
Since December 11, 2011, the St. Cecilia campus has been home to the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, a mission seminary of the Neocatechumenal Way under the Archdiocese of Miami. It opened with twelve founding seminarians who came to their vocations through Neocatechumenal communities in their home parishes; they receive academic formation at St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami and St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, while their spiritual formation follows the Neocatechumenal Way. Once ordained, they are incardinated in the Archdiocese of Miami and serve where the Archbishop sends them — locally or internationally. On December 10, 2020, Archbishop Thomas Wenski blessed a renovated eight-apartment building just ten feet from the rectory as a new seminary wing with rooms for sixteen seminarians and two priests.
- Opened December 11, 2011 with 12 seminarians
- Rector: Father Emanuele De Nigris (also pastor of St. Cecilia)
- Vice Rector: Father Pedro Luis Durango Agudelo
- Spiritual Director: Father Juan Alfredo Sanchez Leandro
- Seminarians attend classes at St. John Vianney and St. Vincent de Paul Seminaries
- One of about 100 Redemptoris Mater seminaries worldwide
Neocatechumenal Way
The life of St. Cecilia parish is closely tied to the Neocatechumenal Way, a Catholic formation movement begun in 1964 by Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández in a Madrid slum and praised by Pope John Paul II as 'an itinerary of Catholic formation, valid for our society and for our times.' Members gather in parish-based small communities (typically up to ~50 people) for weekly study sessions and small-group Eucharists. Many of the artworks around St. Cecilia Church are copies of paintings by Kiko Argüello himself, and the Way's seminary on site prepares future priests for both the archdiocese and the missions.
- Parish-based small Christian communities
- Weekly formation gatherings and small-group Eucharists
- Source of vocations for Redemptoris Mater seminarians
Mass and Worship Schedule
All listed Masses are celebrated in Spanish. The parish offers three Sunday Masses and two weekday Masses (Tuesday and Friday at 7:00 AM). The Archdiocese of Miami publishes these as the parish's official schedule.
- Sunday — 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 6:00 PM (Spanish)
- Tuesday — 7:00 AM (Spanish)
- Friday — 7:00 AM (Spanish)
Evening Prayer and Benediction
Every Sunday evening after the 6:00 PM Mass, parishioners are welcomed to Evening Prayer and Benediction led by the seminarians of Redemptoris Mater. The 2011 reopening article describes this as a regular moment of shared prayer between the parish and the seminary community.
- Sundays after the 6:00 PM Mass
- Led by the Redemptoris Mater seminarians
Campus and Facilities
The St. Cecilia campus at 1040 W. 29th Street includes the church (the renovated former Protestant building dedicated in 1996), the 1981 parish hall, the rectory, the seminary's residential buildings — including a new wing blessed in 2020 — and a daycare center that was opened in 1996 for children ages two to five. Many of the artworks in the church are copies of paintings by 'Kiko' Argüello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way.
- Church dedicated 1996
- Parish hall built 1981
- Daycare center (opened 1996, ages 2–5)
- Seminary wing blessed December 10, 2020
Community and Outreach
St. Cecilia sits in an apartment-dense section of Hialeah where many residents — often senior citizens or recent arrivals from Cuba — walk to Mass. The parish has long been known for its outreach to those in need; Monsignor Ordax was remembered for welcoming everyone who came to the parish asking for financial help. Today, priests and seminarians of St. Cecilia and Redemptoris Mater are involved in many neighborhood evangelization initiatives.
- Walkable neighborhood parish
- Long-standing outreach to those in financial need
- Neighborhood evangelization with the Redemptoris Mater seminarians
Contact and Location
St. Cecilia Catholic Parish is located in the heart of Hialeah, in the Archdiocese of Miami's Northwest Dade Deanery. The parish office and Redemptoris Mater Seminary share the same address on West 29th Street.
- Address: 1040 West 29 Street, Hialeah, FL 33012
- Parish phone: (305) 883-0003
- Parish fax: (305) 883-0501
- Seminary phone: (305) 882-1728
- Seminary fax: (305) 883-0041
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Juan Antonio Lacalle1971 (founding)
Appointed by Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll as the first pastor of the newly formed parish.
- Monsignor Pedro Luis Perezbefore Ordax
Pastor of St. Cecilia before Monsignor Ordax; later retired as pastor of San Lazaro in Hialeah.
- Monsignor Emiliano Ordaxapproximately 27 years (ending 2009)
Built the church and the parish hall; known for welcoming all who came asking for financial aid; present at the 2011 reopening.
- Monsignor Oscar Castañeda2011 (interim)
Pastor of nearby St. John the Apostle who hosted the image and tabernacle; celebrated the first Mass back at St. Cecilia on Easter Sunday 2011 and once a month until October 2011.
- Father Emanuele De NigrisOctober 2011 – present
Italian-born priest from the Neocatechumenal Way's Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Washington, D.C.; speaks English, Spanish and Italian; first rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Miami.