About St. Lucie · Port Saint Lucie, Florida
St. Lucie Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Port St. Lucie, Florida, belonging to the Diocese of Palm Beach (Northern Deanery). It is served by Conventual Franciscan Friars from Our Lady of the Angels Province, making it one of only two parishes in the diocese entrusted to the Franciscans. Founded in the early 1960s, the parish offers weekend and daily Mass in English and Spanish, a Haitian choir and ministries in Creole, Eucharistic Adoration, and extensive outreach including a long-running soup kitchen, a daily Bread Ministry, and the Rice and Beans program that serves migrant workers in the Lake Okeechobee region. The parish church sits at 280 SW Prima Vista Boulevard, with the parish office at 425 SW Irving Street and the Fr. Hickey Parish Center next door.
- Established
- 1964
- Patron
- Saint Lucy (Santa Lucía) — a 3rd/4th-century Christian martyr venerated as patron of the blind and those with eye diseases. The parish celebrates a nine-day novena to her beginning each December 5th, ending on her feast day, December 13th.
- Rector
- Fr. Mark A. Szanyi, OFM Conv. (installed December 9, 2007 by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Palm Beach (Northern Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Lucie is a vibrant, multicultural parish where a wide range of faithful can find a home — weekend Mass in English and Spanish, a long-standing Haitian choir and Creole-language prayer groups, and several active choirs. It is anchored in daily Eucharistic Adoration (Thursdays and First Fridays) and warm devotions like the nine-day Novena to St. Lucy each December, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Rosary, the Charismatic Healing Mass, and the Flame of Love movement. The parish is unusually outward-facing for its size: it runs a Thursday soup kitchen serving more than 300 hot meals, a daily Bread Ministry that collects surplus food from local stores, and the San Damiano–led Rice and Beans program serving migrant workers around Lake Okeechobee — concrete ways for newcomers to put faith into action alongside other parishioners.
Mass times at St. Lucie
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
- First Friday: 7:15 AM – 7:45 AM (per parish website) / 7:15 AM – 7:40 AM (per catholicmasstime listing)
- First Friday: 7:00 AM – 7:20 AM and 8:00 AM – 8:20 AM (per parish Guide Book, or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Every Thursday in the Church after the 8:30 AM Mass, continuing until 5:00 PM and ending with Benediction
- First Friday of every month in the Church after the 8:30 AM Mass, continuing until 5:00 PM and ending with Benediction
Our Story — The History of St. Lucie Parish
St. Lucie Parish was born on August 20, 1961, when Monsignor Michael Beerhalter, pastor of St. Anastasia in Fort Pierce, offered Mass in a Port St. Lucie home. Within two months Sunday Masses moved to the Port St. Lucie Marina, and by 1963 General Development Corporation had offered the five-acre site where the parish still stands. The first church — a 'Mission Church' built for roughly $60,000 — was dedicated by Bishop Carroll on May 30, 1965, a few weeks after its first Easter Mass. The decades that followed brought explosive growth: Port St. Lucie's population rose from 330 in 1970 to 17,000 in 1980, and the parish outgrew its facilities twice. The current church was built in 1983–84 on the razed original's footprint (budget: $1.250 million, dedicated by Bishop Thomas Grady), and the Parish Center was added in 1990. In 2007, Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito installed Fr. Mark A. Szanyi, OFM Conv., beginning the parish's era as a Conventual Franciscan parish under Our Lady of the Angels Province.
- First Mass offered by Monsignor Michael Beerhalter on August 20, 1961 in a Port St. Lucie home
- Ground broken for the 'Mission Church' on the present site, 1963; dedicated May 30, 1965
- St. Lucie becomes part of the newly established Diocese of Orlando, 1968
- Population of Port St. Lucie: 330 (1970) → 17,000 (1980)
- Original church razed 1983; new church dedicated by Bishop Thomas Grady, June 10, 1984
- Parish Center groundbreaking July 16, 1989; dedicated June 17, 1990
- Fr. Mark A. Szanyi, OFM Conv., installed as pastor December 9, 2007
Our Friars — Conventual Franciscan Clergy
St. Lucie is one of two parishes in the Diocese of Palm Beach staffed by Conventual Franciscans. Their motto, 'Pax et Bonum,' graces the Guide Book. The priests are members of Our Lady of the Angels Province (Ellicott City, Maryland), part of a worldwide fraternity that runs ministries from Maine to Florida and across the Atlantic. Like all Catholic priests, they take vows of chastity and obedience and add a Franciscan vow of poverty; they are called to live in community, to prayer, and to ministry to the poor.
- Fr. Mark A. Szanyi, OFM Conv. — Pastor (ordained 1978; at St. Lucie since August 2007)
- Fr. Paul Gabriel, OFM Conv. — Parochial Vicar (ordained 2005; at St. Lucie since August 2014)
- Fr. Milton Torres, OFM Conv. — Parochial Vicar (ordained 2019; at St. Lucie since January 2020)
- Fr. Curt Kreml, OFM Conv. — In Residence
Faith Formation — Religious Education, RCIA, and Sacraments
St. Lucie's Religious Education program, led by Director of Religious Education Andrea Draper, welcomes registrations from May through August for the September–May academic year. Only a parent or legal guardian may enroll a child, and a birth certificate plus registration as a parishioner of St. Lucie are required. The program prepares children for First Penance, First Communion, and Confirmation, and coordinates the R.C.I.A. for adults seeking to enter the Church. Andrea Draper, joined by assistant Alassra DiFrancesco, also plans retreats, Vacation Bible School, and sacramental record-keeping. A Baptism class is required for parents bringing infants for the sacrament; the parish encourages taking it while still expecting.
- Director of Religious Education: Andrea Draper ([email protected])
- Registration: May–August each year
- Sacramental prep: First Penance, First Communion, Confirmation
- R.C.I.A. for adults ([email protected])
- Baptism Class — contact Isabel Ricaurte in the Parish Office (878-1215)
- Vacation Bible School (ages 4–10) each summer
Youth Ministry
St. Lucie's youth ministry is led by Loretta Barnes and offers two age-appropriate programs in the Parish Center. EDGE is a Catholic middle-school ministry for grades 6–8 that meets Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the upstairs Youth Room 202/204. LifeTeen is the high-school (grades 9–12) ministry that begins with Sunday evening Mass, followed by activity and a meal in the Parish Hall — and there is no charge, so teens are encouraged to bring their friends.
- EDGE — grades 6–8, Mon & Tue 6:00–7:30 PM, Parish Center Youth Room 202/204
- LifeTeen — grades 9–12, Sunday evenings: Mass, then activity in the Parish Center, with a meal in the Parish Hall
- Contact: [email protected] or [email protected], or the Parish Office (772) 878-1215
Music and Liturgy
Music is central to worship at St. Lucie, where three choirs — English, Spanish, and the Haitian group AJM ('Amis de Jésus et de Marie') — bring the liturgy to life. Music Director Adria Cary leads the English choir, with rehearsals at 8:30 AM on Sunday mornings before the 9:30 AM Mass. Spanish choir contact is Jose Rosado through the Parish Office. AJM, founded in October 2007 and based at St. Lucie since 2013, rehearses Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in Parish Center Room 201 and supports Haitian Catholic community life.
- English Choir — Director Adria Cary ([email protected]), Sunday 8:30 AM rehearsal
- Spanish Choir — contact Jose Rosado via the Parish Office
- Haitian Choir AJM (Amis de Jésus et de Marie) — Thursdays 7:00–9:00 PM in Parish Center Room 201; contact Elva Antenor (772) 812-7611
Parish Life — Councils, Brotherhood, and Family
Beyond Mass and formation, St. Lucie is a parish that gathers around tables. The Council of Catholic Women meets on the second Tuesday of every month (September through May) from 7:15 to 9:00 PM in the Parish Hall, 'laboring with love' to welcome First Communicants, Confirmandi, and visiting bishops. The Knights of Columbus host parish breakfasts on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, 8:00–11:00 AM. The Family Life Ministry plans picnics, Family Fun Nights, themed parties, Easter Egg Hunts, and 'Trunk or Treat' for Halloween, while the Family Pastoral in Spanish meets on the third Friday at 7:00 PM. Women of Faith and the Bereavement Support Group (Mondays 10:00–11:30 AM in the Parish Center Library) round out parish life.
- Council of Catholic Women (CCW) — 2nd Tuesday, 7:15–9:00 PM, Parish Hall (Sept–May)
- Women of Faith
- Knights of Columbus — parish breakfasts 2nd & 4th Sundays, 8:00–11:00 AM
- Family Life Ministry — picnics, Family Fun Nights, Easter Egg Hunt, Trunk or Treat
- Family Pastoral in Spanish — 3rd Friday, 7:00 PM, Parish Center Library (Jorge Rojas, 772-342-4467)
- Bereavement Support Group — Mondays 10:00–11:30 AM, Parish Center Library
Outreach — Feeding the Poor in Port St. Lucie and Beyond
St. Lucie has a remarkable outreach footprint for its size. For more than a decade the parish has run a Thursday soup kitchen that now serves more than 300 hot meals weekly. Volunteers for the Bread Ministry head to local grocery stores before dawn each day to collect day-old bread, cakes, pies, cookies, and vegetables — items that would otherwise go unsold — and distribute them to soup kitchens and food pantries in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. On the last weekend of every other month, the San Damiano men rent a truck and parishioners fill it with bags and boxes of beans and rice; the Rice and Beans volunteers then drive inland to migrant communities in Indiantown and Pahokee around Lake Okeechobee. As Fr. Mark notes, the parish often collects between two and four tons of rice and beans per run. The Respect Life Ministry runs The Gabriel Project, offering hands-on support (maternity clothes, baby supplies, emotional guidance) to pregnant women in need.
- Soup Kitchen — Thursdays, 300+ hot meals served weekly
- Bread Ministry — daily pre-dawn pickup of surplus bakery/produce, distributed to area soup kitchens and food pantries
- Rice and Beans Program (San Damiano men) — bi-monthly deliveries to migrant workers in Indiantown and Pahokee (2–4 tons per run)
- Respect Life Ministry / The Gabriel Project — support for pregnant women in need; info: 344-3303 or (772) 342-3809; meetings 1st Monday 7:30–8:30 PM in the Parish Hall Library; contact Linda (871-7162)
Parish Staff and Offices
The parish office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM (occasionally times vary). The Main Office mailing address is 425 SW Irving Street, Port St. Lucie, FL 34983; the church itself sits at 280 SW Prima Vista Boulevard, and the Fr. Hickey Parish Center/Parish Hall is at 290 SW Prima Vista Boulevard.
- Annette DeLuca — Office Manager & Bulletin Editor ([email protected])
- Denise McOsker — Office Manager / Bulletin Editor (current)
- Andrea Draper, DRE — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
- Alassra DiFrancesco — Assistant, Religious Education
- Adria Cary — Music Director ([email protected])
- Loretta Barnes — Youth Minister / Family Life ([email protected], [email protected])
- Rosemary Konas — Gift Shop (772-878-4135, [email protected])
- M. Isabel Ricaurte — Baptism class coordination (878-1215)
- Carlos Alcazar — Maintenance
- Lloyd Hayward — Maintenance
- Pastor Fr. Mark Szanyi, OFM Conv. — overall pastorate
Visit, Stream, and Stay Connected
St. Lucie maintains a rich website at stlucie.cc with at least twelve months of calendar items, current bulletins, donation options, ministry information, photo galleries, and live streaming of Masses (stlucie.cc/live-stream). The parish is also active on Facebook. Do not mail correspondence to the church or Fr. Hickey Parish Center; the only official mailing address is 425 SW Irving Street, Port St. Lucie, FL 34983.
- Live stream: stlucie.cc/live-stream
- Mailing address: 425 SW Irving Street, Port St. Lucie, FL 34983
- Phone: (772) 878-1215; Fax: (772) 878-1299
- Office hours: Mon–Fri 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM (occasionally varies)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Monsignor Michael Beerhalter (celebrated first Mass)August 20, 1961
Pastor of St. Anastasia, Fort Pierce; offered the very first Mass in a Port St. Lucie home, launching what would become St. Lucie Parish.
- Fr. Bernard L. HickeyJuly 1965 – February 1, 1982
First resident pastor; oversaw construction of the rectory and education building and began a building fund for a larger church; oversaw the decision to raze the original church.
- Fr. Peter C. DolanFebruary 1982 – September 1, 1996
Led the 1983–84 demolition and rebuild of the church (dedicated by Bishop Grady, June 10, 1984), built the new Parish Center (1990), and after a fire destroyed the rectory, completed the new rectory and office complex.
- Fr. Matthew J. Fitzgerald1996 – 1998
- Monsignor James L. Burke1998 – 2003
Shepherded a growing parish; St. Lucie shared parishioners for a third time with the founding of St. Bernadette (2001).
- Fr. D. Brian Horgan2003 – February 2007
Departed to serve as an Air Force Chaplain.
- Fr. Mark A. Szanyi, OFM Conv.December 9, 2007 – present
Installed by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito; began the parish's era as a Conventual Franciscan parish. Previously president of John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce (1987–1997) and pastor of St. Mark Parish, Boynton Beach (1997–2005), then Vicar Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province.