Remembering Archbishop Coleman Carroll's fruitful ministry

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily during a Mass marking the 45th anniversary of the death of Miami’s first archbishop, Coleman Carroll. The Mass was celebrated July 26, 2022, at St. Martha Church, Miami Shores, located next to the archdiocesan Pastoral Center.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Ann and St. Joachim, the parents of Mary. We know little about them – the Scriptures do not speak of them. But we can infer many things because of their daughter, Mary. Haitian proverb says, mango a pa tonbe lwen pye mango a: the mango doesn’t fall far from the tree. So as Jesus says on another occasion, “by their fruits you will know them,” we can say that we know Ann and Joachim by their fruit, their daughter chosen by God to be the mother of the Savior.

Today we also observe the 45th anniversary of the passing of Archbishop Coleman Francis Carroll, the first bishop and Archbishop of Miami. A few of us remember him well: Sister Elizabeth received her habit as a sister of St. Joseph from his hands; I was confirmed by him and later ordained a priest by him. But even if you never had the opportunity to meet Archbishop Carroll, I believe you can know him by his fruits as well.

He arrived as bishop in October 1958; he died in office at 72 in 1977 on this day, a day also of some significance in Cuban history – for it marks the beginning of Castro’s revolution, which has certainly produced much bitter fruit.

But today we remember the good fruits of Archbishop Coleman Carroll’s ministry among us. He was a builder, a visionary, a man formed in the Tridentine Church who participated in Vatican II and began its implementation – often tumultuous – here in South Florida. He was a man of a “bulldog” determination. (This explains why a bulldog is the mascot of Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School.)

Given the fast pace of growth here in South Florida and social turmoil of the 1960s, he had to be determined and strong willed. He established two seminaries; he welcomed the Cuban exiles, including the unaccompanied minors of Pedro Pan; he established dozens of new parishes, elementary schools and high schools (I believe in 1963, during a recession, the Diocese of Miami had some 30 major construction projects underway – which blunted the effects of the recession in South Florida); he invited the Augustinians to establish Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University); he desegrated our Catholic schools, promoted civil rights including the establishment of the Community Relations Board of Dade County; he promoted social ministry, starting nursing homes and senior housing.

When in the ‘70s, Haitians began to arrive by boats, I remember him on a visit to St. Vincent de Paul Seminary saying that just as the Church welcomed the Cubans, we would welcome the Haitians as well. (And I believe you can see a photo of him with Congressman Claude Pepper visiting with some Haitian refugees – the archbishop got them released from INS custody and he housed them at St. John Vianney for some weeks during their summer break.)

Yes, “by their fruits you will know them.” We benefit from the fruits of Archbishop Carroll’s labors in so many ways. (He even started the ABCD campaign). He died 45 years ago today. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.