Reporter's notebook: I was a child of Centro Hispano

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

MIAMI | Emma McCormack always enjoyed visiting the children of Centro Hispano Católico Child Development Center, run by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami.

“They were a delight. So entertaining, and very helpful,” said McCormack, a former president and treasurer of the Ladies Auxiliary of Centro Hispano, which, since the 1980s, helped raise funds for the center.

I can vouch for the efforts of the Ladies Auxiliary because I was a child of Centro Hispano. In fact, three generations of my family have connections to the center, which was developed as the Church’s response to the massive influx of Cuban exiles that arrived in Miami after Fidel Castro came to power.

Officially dedicated on Jan. 31, 1960, and run by what was then known as the Catholic Welfare Bureau, Centro Hispano helped newly arrived Cuban refugees acquire clothes, food, job referrals, child care, medical and dental services, in addition to religious and spiritual support from the Catholic Church.

In 1960, my grandfather’s first job as a Cuban exile in the United States was as an elevator operator in the six-story building in downtown Miami, behind Gesu Church, that housed Centro Hispano.

As children, my mother and uncle attended the child development center. When they were in grade school at Gesu, they helped sort and separate food, clothing and other goods into care packages that were given to the mostly Cuban immigrants that passed through Centro Hispano.

In 1982, the center relocated to an old firehouse on 27th Avenue in Miami. By that time, the Ladies Auxiliary had been created to help with fundraising. As the major Cuban exodus faded, Centro Hispano shifted its focus to child development services. In 1987, my grandmother became a teacher’s aide in Centro Hispano, and worked there for 15 years. During the early 1990s, my cousins, my brother and I were students there.

To this day, I am beyond grateful for my time at Centro Hispano’s daycare, as well as its teachers and staff. I consider what I learned there as foundational to the rest of my education. We were taught essentials like words, numbers, colors, shapes, days and months of the week, along with a little history, manners, and even etiquette.

McCormack still expresses astonishment and amusement at watching the children eat with hands properly placed on forks. “They were well educated and looked quite elegant,” she said.

And true to its institutional name, Centro Hispano taught us the fundamentals of our Catholic faith. I will always remember Sister Praxedes Suarez, of the Sisters of Social Service, then director of Centro Hispano, leading us in praying the Our Father and Hail Mary. Watching family videos of these moments, I cannot help but smile and laugh a little, as an assembly of more than 200 children squeeze their hands together, as if the tighter they squeezed, the more meaningfully they prayed. We also fumbled words that we were too young to understand, or we merged them to form one very long one (“Hallowedbethyname”).

Although I was not aware of the Ladies Auxiliary as a child, I know as an adult how much was possible because of them. My grandmother recalled their monthly gatherings to discuss fundraising. It’s now evident that we were provided for thanks to their efforts. I don’t recall a shortage of food, staff, supplies, or any other means essential to running a daycare and child development center.

When Centro Hispano moved a third time, the Ladies Auxiliary helped find its new location in Wynwood. In 1997, they helped to raise funds for the new facility, the Centro Hispano Católico Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Child Care Center. Its name pays tribute to the late Irish priest and longtime director of Catholic Charities known for his work on behalf of Cuban exiles.

In December 2020, the Ladies’ Auxiliary performed their final charitable act by presenting a check for $63,756.92 to Catholic Charities. Aging members could no longer carry out the work of the auxiliary.

“We decided to transfer the funds so that they could truly continue their work the way it should be,” said McCormack.  

“The Ladies Auxiliary of Centro Hispano is a wonderful example of a generation that believed in giving back to communities and were willing to invest their time, talent, and treasure to do so,” said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, CEO of Catholic Charities. “Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami will forever be grateful for all that they have done to make Centro Hispano what it is today.” 

FIND OUT MORE

• Centro Hispano Católico Child Development Center, located at 125 N.W. 25 St., Miami, is one of six childcare centers operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami. All of them offer a psycho-social development program to prepare children ages 3-5 for kindergarten.
• All of the centers serve low-income families. Funding sources include the state of Florida's VPK program, Head Start, the United Way, and the City of Miami.
• There are no more than 20 children per classroom at Centro Hispano, and all receive breakfast and lunch daily.
• For more information, call 305-573-9093; email [email protected]; or visit the Catholic Charities website, www.ccadm.org.