'A great past, a hopeful future'

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

MIAMI SHORES | St. Rose of Lima School students used fountain pens 75 years ago, wrote on blackboards, and Adrian Dominican nuns taught most classes. Today’s students maneuver through their lessons using iPads, Chromebooks and smart interactive boards. Mainly lay teachers instruct the students.   

Those were some of the memories some of the original St. Rose students brought back to a 75th anniversary year kick-off Mass at the church, Oct. 9, 2022.

“I remember the Adrian Dominican nuns with their floor-length white habits and long black veils, all you could see were their faces and hands,” said Marty Mennes, a 1960 graduate. His two brothers and sister also attended the school. “The nuns were strict. Sister Kathleen Marie was the first principal. I recall Sister Simon Peter, Sister Mary Cyprian. Sister Kevin Marie became the second principal in 1957 and Sister Margaret Timothy took over in 1959.”

The Adrian Dominicans ceased their administration of the school in 1980, when Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary took over. The current church was dedicated in 1961, followed by the baptistry and bell tower a few years later.

“The new church was constructed on what was an empty field on the church property, where we kids sometimes played during recess. The original church is now the school auditorium/hall. A convent hadn’t been built yet, so the nuns lived in a two-story building a few blocks from the school,” Mennes said.

Although mostly Adrian Dominican nuns staffed the school in the early days, there was one lay teacher Mennes recalled fondly.

“Mrs. Blue. I don’t know the spelling, however that’s how her name was pronounced,” he said. “She gave good students 8x10 pictures of saints. I recall that the Mass was celebrated in Latin and altar boys had to learn the responses in Latin. Girls had to wear beanies on their heads in church.”

When the parish was established Oct. 12, 1948, Masses were celebrated in the Barry College auditorium and at the Red Feather Farm restaurant on Sixth Avenue and 140th St. In 1949, Msgr. James Enright succeeded Bishop Thomas McDonough, who was the first pastor. Marty Mennes’ sister, Anne Mennes Weber, said she was the first baby baptized in the new parish.

“I was baptized at the then rectory on Northeast 92nd Street,” she said.

The Mennes family is a multi-generational St. Rose family. Marty Mennes and his grandniece, Lucy Gonzalez, 10, a St. Rose of Lima fifth grader, brought the offertory to the altar at the anniversary Mass.

In 1971, Msgr. Noel Fogarty became pastor of St. Rose. He led the parish through two decades, adding the Msgr. Enright Building which houses school offices, science facilities, a library and meeting rooms. Another building surrounding the auditorium was completed in 1989 and provides an early childhood center, computer and art rooms.

In 1991, Msgr. Seamus Doyle became pastor. He guided the construction of new parish offices and a development center with parish meeting rooms at the rear of the church. The rectory was renovated, and a protective steel fence was erected around the church and school property. A parish pavilion was added at the church’s east entrance, where social events take place.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Anne Bernard became principal in 1981, followed by Sister Rita Murphy and Sister Mary Kindelan, a 1970 alumna. Lay principals came after them, first Brenda Cummings and now Stephen Brown. The school has received two National Blue Ribbon excellence awards, in 1986 and 1994.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who celebrated the 75th anniversary kick-off Mass, pointed out that two vocations came out of St. Rose of Lima Church.

“Father Michael Sullivan, who recently passed away, and Father Paul Vuturo were both St. Rose graduates,” he said. “Faith, hope and love brings us together today. You have a great past and a hopeful future.”

Following Msgr. Doyle’s retirement in 2012, Father Pedro Corces became pastor until 2016, when Father George Packuvettithara, took over. “Father George,” as he is known, thanked the archbishop for celebrating Mass.

“We have officially kicked-off our 75th anniversary celebration. This is both a spiritual and social time to rejoice and renew. We’ve had seven and a half decades of spiritual nourishment,” he said.

In addition to the kick-off Mass, the 75th anniversary celebration featured the Msgr. Seamus Doyle Golf Tournament. Upcoming events include an international potluck dinner, the annual carnival, a talk by well-known author and biblical scholar Dr. Scott Hahn, a parish picnic with a St. Patrick’s Day theme, a St. Rose of Lima feast day celebration, jubilee gala and closing Mass and breakfast, said Linda Mennes, chairperson of the 75th anniversary committee.