About St. Theresa of the Child Jesus · Okeechobee, Florida
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus is a Catholic mission church located in Buckhead Ridge, a community within Okeechobee, Florida. It was founded in 1992 under the Diocese of Venice in Florida and was formally dedicated on April 2, 1995. As a mission, it is administered from St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in nearby Moore Haven (Glades County) and serves the small Catholic population of the Buckhead Ridge area along the western shore of Lake Okeechobee. Weekly Sunday Mass is celebrated at 10:00 a.m., and the parish falls within the Eastern Deanery of the diocese.
- Established
- 1992
- Patron
- St. Theresa of the Child Jesus (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)
- Rector
- Rev. Remigious Ssekiranda (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Venice in Florida
Why belong here
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus offers the small Catholic community of Buckhead Ridge a place to gather weekly for Sunday Mass and the sacraments close to home, rather than driving to Moore Haven or further into Okeechobee. As a mission of St. Joseph the Worker, it provides a familiar, family-sized worship setting rooted in the rural Lake Okeechobee region, with a priest-administrator who also serves the wider Glades County Catholic community. Visitors and seasonal residents of the Buckhead Ridge area are welcomed to register and participate in the parish's liturgical and sacramental life.
Mass times at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Mission
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus is a Catholic mission church in the Diocese of Venice in Florida, located in the small community of Buckhead Ridge within Okeechobee County. Founded in 1992 and dedicated in 1995, it serves the faithful of the western Lake Okeechobee region. As a mission (rather than an independent parish), it is administered by the priests of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Moore Haven.
- Parish type: Mission
- Founded: 1992
- Dedicated: April 2, 1995
- Deanery: Eastern
- Parent parish: St. Joseph the Worker, Moore Haven, FL
Location & Address
The mission church sits at 1027 Chobee Loop in the Buckhead Ridge neighborhood on the western shore of Lake Okeechobee. While the physical address is in Okeechobee, FL 34974, all official mail is directed to the parent parish's P.O. Box in Moore Haven.
- Street address: 1027 Chobee Loop-BHR, Okeechobee, FL 34974
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 1109, Moore Haven, FL 33471
- Office email: [email protected]
- Phone: (863) 946-0696
- Fax: (863) 946-3444
Clergy & Pastoral Care
Pastoral care for the mission is provided by an assigned priest-administrator from the Diocese of Venice who also ministers to the parent parish of St. Joseph the Worker in Moore Haven.
- Administrator: Rev. Remigious Ssekiranda
Diocese of Venice
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus is part of the Diocese of Venice in Florida, which covers the 10-county southwestern region of the state. The mission falls within the diocese's Eastern Deanery and is included in the official diocesan timeline, which lists the chapel's founding in 1992.
- Diocese: Diocese of Venice in Florida
- Deanery: Eastern
- Listed in the Diocese of Venice 1992 timeline of diocesan history
Patron Saint
The mission is named for St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (St. Thérèse of Lisieux), the French Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church known for her 'Little Way' of spiritual childhood. Her memorial is celebrated on October 1.
- Patron: St. Theresa of the Child Jesus (Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873–1897)
- Feast day: October 1