Archbishop: Youth Center not for sale

By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

MIAMI -- Archbishop Thomas Wenski has decided that the Archdiocese of Miami Youth Center, located on Biscayne Bay between Vizcaya Museum and Immaculata La Salle High School, will neither close nor be sold. During the financial crisis of 2009, the archdiocese had announced that it would put the property up for sale to offset debt.

Photographer: FILE PHOTO

The Miami Youth Center is located on Biscayne Bay, next to Immaculata La Salle High School and Vizcaya.

�He wants it to be in the best operational condition possible for the youth and adult retreat programs that take place there,� said Claretian Sister Ondina Cort�s, former archdiocesan director of Youth Ministry and now a professor at St. Thomas University. On a volunteer basis, she oversees the operations of both the Miami Youth Center and the Madonna Retreat Center in Hollywood.

The Miami Youth Center provides retreat space for many Emmaus groups, Catholic high schools, parish ministries, and support groups. It is also the home base of two archdiocesan youth movements: Encuentros Juveniles (Youth Encounters) and Amor en el Principio (Love in the Beginning), a movement for couples who are starting to date.

�Archbishop Wenski participated as a spiritual director in Youth Encounters when he was a deacon and considers himself an �encuentrista,�� said Sister Cort�s.

The archdiocese has recently paid for some needed repairs, but the Youth Center still needs help to improve and maintain its facilities, Sister Cort�s said. The Claretian Sisters, who are responsible for the center, are launching a campaign to refurbish the rooms through the �Adopt a Room Campaign.�

�Parishes, groups, and individuals that adopt a room for $1,000 may name it after the saint of their choice,� Sister Cort�s said. �This effort will be coordinated by a soon-to-be-established advisory board that will also strategize about long term sustainability.�

Anyone wishing to contribute to the renovation of the Youth Center should contact its administrator, Claretian Sister Claudia Ortega at [email protected].

Sister Cort�s also is organizing a group to attend World Youth Day in Madrid in August of this year.

"It is composed of young adults from different parishes in Miami. We are going August 6-23, 2011," Sister Cort�s said. "We plan to begin our pilgrimage in Paris, visit Liseaux, then go to Barcelona and visit the Claretian sites (Vic and Reus) and then do Days in the Diocese in Segovia," ending the trip in Madrid.

A few spaces are left for the trip. Anyone 18 to 30 years old who is interested in participating should contact her at [email protected].

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

The archdiocesan group going to World Youth Day in Madrid this August poses for a photo after a Spanish Night celebration in preparation for their trip. A few spaces remain available for persons ages 18 to 30 who want to attend World Youth Day this year.