By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

MIAMI | David Prada, senior director of the Office of Building and Property at the Archdiocese of Miami, has been named president of the board of directors of the Conference for Catholic Facility Management (CCFM) for the fourth time.

“Having participated in a lot of committees, I was asked to join the board. And after being on the board for two years, they nominated me to be the president. It’s been a great experience. It’s the first time I’ve done anything like that,” said Prada.

Prada began working at the Archdiocese of Miami in 2012. At the time, he was looking for support and resources for managing and maintaining Catholic facilities.

“Facilities in the Catholic Church are very different from other types of buildings because we have the liturgical, spiritual components to them,” he said.

After a Google search, he found the CCFM, a national association that consists of 120 archdiocesan and diocesan members, 55 religious institutes, and more than 85 corporate members, assisted also by an episcopal moderator, currently Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, Kentucky. The CCFM provides professional training, continuing education, and networking for anyone who works for the Catholic Church in real estate, construction, facility management and sustainability.

Once a year, members of the CCFM gather in person for a multiday conference offering professional development and fellowship.

Prada said he was moved, at this year’s conference in Baltimore, by keynote speaker Sister Carol Zinn, a Sister of St. Joseph from Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, who reminded the group not to focus for too long on the problems projects can bring, but instead to remember the big picture.

“We’re building the kingdom of God,” Prada said.

Participants at the 27th annual conference sat in on workshops about maintaining air-conditioning systems and stained glass windows, restoring mosaic tile, lighting and landscaping, as well as discussions on the rising costs of construction. They also toured churches in the host town, including the Baltimore Basilica, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and Nativity Church in Timonium, Maryland, which inspired the book “Rebuilt.”

“We get to see things and experience what the different dioceses are doing in building and construction, and we usually have an architect there to talk to us about any projects in a given diocese,” said Prada.

He recalled when Miami hosted the CCFM conference in 2017. Participants toured historic Gesu Church in downtown Miami, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral and St. Brendan High, both built with Pope Francis’ Laudato Si encyclical in mind in terms of being “green” — sustainably built and maintained.

The Miami conference was a real hit not only for its warm temperatures, but also because it showcased a community that is flourishing.

“A lot of these areas are closing schools and closing parishes, selling their churches,” said Prada. “But people are like, ‘Wow, you guys are growing.’”