By Emily Chaffins -

Photography: ISABEL RENNELLA | FC

MIAMI | Revving their engines, bikers poured into Our Lady of Guadalupe Church’s parking lot to participate in the Archbishop’s 2023 Motorcycle Ride, Jan. 29, 2023. 350 bikers attended this annual fundraiser for St. Luke’s Center for drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation. An estimated 500 people participated including the riders (those who rode with a motorcyclist), volunteers, and police escorts.

Motorcycle ride sponsors included former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz; the Knights of Columbus’ Knights on Bikes; Manatee Transportation; Peterson’s Harley Davidson; Rubenstein Law; and Zuzolo Real Estate.

Many bikers arrived prior to registration opening at 7:30 a.m. Event coordination was overseen by staff from the Archdiocese of Miami’s Office of Development.

Two examples of biking groups who have been faithfully coming each year are Emmaus Bikers and Knights on Bikes. Emmaus Bikers from Our Lady of Guadalupe have the distinction of being the first parish biking group in the archdiocese.

“They have been part of the organization of the event since the beginning,” said Father Israel Mago, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A rider known as Chief, who serves as president of the Knights of Columbus-affiliated Krome Knights Motorcycle Association, said his group was “the first to plan this [the motorcycle ride] for the archbishop.”

George Gutierrez, who chairs the Miami chapter of Knights on Bikes, said the group brought 39 representatives from across Florida, with the furthest coming from Jacksonville. Most of them, he noted, “come every year.”  

In addition to supporting the archbishop and donating to St. Luke’s Center, bikers cited many reasons for being drawn to the event.

Dennison Padilla of Legion of Reapers motorcycle club said he was looking forward to the blessing of the motorcycles.

Milka Gutierrez, wife of George Gutierrez, said one of the reasons she enjoys going to the event is “evangelizing,” by showing people that Catholic Catholics have fun, too.

For some, the motorcycle ride is uniquely personal, Archbishop Wenski told the Florida Catholic. “A few of the people here have benefited from their [St. Luke’s Center] services.”

The event began with Mass at 8:30 a.m. In his homily, Archbishop Wenski reminded participants that “Christians, are not perfect – just forgiven; and that because of Jesus Christ who suffered and died for us, we can say that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. That future is found in the promises given to us in these Beatitudes, and these promises – as paradoxical as they may seem – sustain our hope in the midst of all the tribulations we endure as we make our pilgrimage to our heavenly home.”

After Mass, the archbishop blessed the motorcycles with holy water while riding on a golf cart around the parking lot. The 50-mile motorcycle ride began with kickstands up at 10 a.m., with the archbishop at the front of the line on his black Harley Davidson Street Glide. The long procession featured motorcycles of many colors, including cherry red, teal, yellow, and orange, with the Rubenstein Law motorcycle sporting the American flag.

The ride’s destination was Peterson’s Harley Davidson, where the fun continued with a Chinese raffle, food trucks, and a live band. Organizers estimated the event would raise close to $20,000 for St. Luke’s.

For more information about St. Luke’s Center, please visit http://www.ccadm.org/sh_projects/alcohol-and-substance-abuse-services/.