By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
Tapestry of St. Stephen decorates a wall of the church. Following artistic tradition, he holds one of the stones that ended his life.
The baptism window shows the hand of God pouring water on the head of a believer.
The peace window has God offering an olive branch.
The Good Samaritan stops to care for a robbery victim in a parable by Jesus.
The Marian window combines several symbols for the mother of Jesus. They include the crown, avowing Mary as Queen of the Church; an MA monogram, for her name; and a lily, for her purity.
In the crucifixion window, Jesus seems to be floating free of the cross, with hands raised in victory.
'Companions on the Journey' illustrates each believer's walk with Jesus, their brother as well as their Lord.
A rainbow stands as a reminder of God's covenant with his people.
Jesus touches a repentant sinner in the Reconciliation Window.
A window etching is dominated by a Staurogram, an early symbol of the cross. The symbol grows out of a lighted lamp, a symbol of the risen Christ. Weaving around them is a vine, recalling Jesus' comparison of himself to a vine that nourishes the branches – believers.
By night, the etching casts an image on a wall.
St. Stephen also includes a shrine to the Lord of Miracles, a Peruvian devotion based on a mural. Several earthquakes devastated much of Lima, that nation's capital, over three centuries; yet the mural remained undamaged.
Beside the chancel area are several Marian statuettes, including this one, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
Another statuette, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, wraps Mary in the brown of the Carmelite order. Her left hand holds the scapular, a symbolic apron for the order's service vocation.
This golden-hued picture of Mary in the chapel was painted by the late Oblate Missionary Father Alejandro Roque, who served as pastor at St. Stephen from 2005 to 2013.
Another painting in the chapel offers a dramatic view of the stoning of Stephen, just as he catches a glimpse of heaven. Standing in the background is Saul, who will later become St. Paul.
An ornate, gold-colored lid covers the baptismal font.
As people leave St. Stephen, they can see the Chi-Rho monogram over the door, along with drops of blood. The monogram combines the first two letters of Christos, Greek for Christ.
Photography: JIM DAVIS | FC
MIRAMAR | St. Stephen lived and died much as his Lord did. He led people to God and frustrated accusers. He was brought before the court of Temple priests, who charged him with blasphemy. And as he died, he prayed for forgiveness for his killers.
As with many martyrs, little is known of Stephen’s life before his involvement with the Church. The Bible tells his story in the book of Acts, chapters 6 and 7. A resident of Jerusalem, he was a Hellenist Jew, who was raised in Greek culture. He heard the Gospel and became a Christian.
Other Greek believers began protesting that their widows were being neglected by the Hebrew-speaking majority, so Stephen and six others were selected to ensure their care. Stephen also showed a gift for evangelization, “full of God’s grace and power,” even performing miracles.
Photographer: Jim Davis | FC
A painting in the chapel offers a dramatic view of the stoning of Stephen, just as he catches a glimpse of heaven.
His eloquence drew the ire of the Sanhedrin, the top religious court at the time. He was charged with opposing religious law and threatening to destroy the Temple, charges similar to those against Jesus. In response, Stephen gave a sweeping narrative of biblical history, ending with Jesus.
Stephen then had a vision of Jesus in heaven with God the Father, which outraged his listeners. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death.
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” he pled as he died – similar to Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The end of Stephen’s story, however, marked the start of Paul’s. As an opponent of the new faith, Saul, as he was called then, held the coats of those who stoned Stephen. But he later had a direct confrontation with Jesus, then became the most active apostle in the early Church.
Scripture doesn't say where Stephen was buried, but one legend points to a place about 25 miles north of Jerusalem. As the story goes, a priest named Lucian in 415 said a vision told him where to find Stephen’s tomb.
Stephen’s body was taken to the Church of Sion, now known as the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, according to the story. Other parts of his body were sent to other Christian sites, including north Africa, where St. Augustine built a church in his honor.
Another tradition places St. Stephen’s remains outside the northern Damascus Gate of the Old City, near what is now known as the Garden Tomb. In the 19th century, Dominicans founded a church on the site called St. Etienne (French for St. Stephen).
Stephen’s patronages recall his death as well as his life: He is the patron saint of deacons, altar servers and stonemasons. His feast day, Dec. 26, is known as Boxing Day in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, the day when homeowners gave small gifts to their servants.
St. Stephen Church in Miramar filled a gap in Church coverage. In the mid-20th century, the only Catholic church in south Broward was Little Flower in downtown Hollywood. So Catholics from Miramar and west Hollywood asked for priests from that church to hold services there.
Photographer: Jim Davis | FC
By night, a window etching casts an image on a wall.
Services began in 1953 in an unfinished community center, with orange crates for an altar table and cement blocks with wooden planks as pews. But the simple arrangement was enough for the worshipers, who attended 250 strong.
St. Stephen’s property was blessed in April 1954, and a temporary home was built that July. A year and a half later, the congregation had its permanent home, part of the existing structure. In August 1956, St. Stephen got its first pastor and became an independent parish.
Education quickly followed, with the Sisters of St. Joseph founding a school in 1956 and a building finished the year after. The school served the community until 2009, when it was rented to a public charter school.
Over the decades, St. Stephen became a mother church for parishes in west and south Broward: Annunciation, Nativity, St. Bartholomew, St. Bernadette and St. Boniface.
St. Stephen also began Spanish-language services for the many Hispanics who were moving in by the mid-1970s. The cultural seasoning proved valuable after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when thousands of Hispanics and African Americans fled to the area from Miami-Dade County.
It was a Hispanic priest and Oblate Missionary, the late Cuban-born Father Alejandro Roque, who provided the concept and design for refurbishing St. Stephen in time for its 35th anniversary in 1991. Its eight main windows were designed by Sister Diane Couture, of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a stained glass artist.
The windows take a minimalist approach, using symbols, gestures and postures rather than details. Themes deal with general lessons, such as peace and reconciliation, plus specific Bible excerpts like the Good Samaritan. Each scene is framed in a brown net, recalling Jesus’ command to become “fishers of men.”
Around the chancel area, one wall is reserved for several images of Mary, including the aura-wrapped Our Lady of Guadalupe from Mexico, the brown-clad Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the Greek icon Our Lady of Perpetual Help. On the other side is a shrine for the Lord of Miracles, a Peruvian devotion.
