By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
The Holy Spirit as a dove shares tongues of flame in the Pentecost window.
Statuette of the Holy Family stands in front of a sunburst design in glass.
This Tabernacle serves worshipers in the chapel.
St. Edward Church's members collect church items from around the world. The chalice, at right, is from Italy. The two cruets, for the wine and water of the Eucharist, are from New Zealand.
This icon, Virgin with Christ Child, was painted by a Serbian artist in the traditional style, of tempera on basswood.
Mary cradles the baby Jesus in a flowered garden in this painting donated by a parishioner.
Statuette of Our Lady of Guadalupe stands at the back of St. Edward Church.
This quilt was a gift from the parochial school to the founding pastor, Father Michael Eivers, who died in 2017.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception watches over a rocky pool and waterfall in a prayer garden.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception usually wears a blue robe; but since the statuette is a single piece of marble, the church decided to leave it as it is.
Suspended over the chancel area is the larger-than-life crucifix, with the Christ figure raising a hand in blessing. The Greek letters stand for his self-designation as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Prayerful angel statues greet visitors to St. Edward Church.
Prayerful angel statues greet visitors to St. Edward Church.
Winged symbols of the Four Evangelists guard the pulpit. They are, counter-clockwise, Matthew as a man, Mark as a lion, Luke as a calf, and John as an eagle.
Bas-relief on the Tabernacle stand displays wheat and grapes, the basis for the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
In front of the altar is a bas-relief of Leonardo Da Vinci's mural of the Last Supper. Leonardo designed it to capture the disciples' reaction after Jesus said that one of them would betray him.
Christ as the Lamb of God is carved into the bronze doors of the main Tabernacle. The vessel holds the consecrated bread of the Eucharist.
This ornate monstrance is for displaying the consecrated bread of the Eucharist. Note the hole in the center.
St. Edward passes out bread in this window, retelling the king's generosity to the poor.
In this chapel window, the hand of God dispenses consecrated bread, with wheat and grapes standing for the elements of the Eucharist.
Photography: Jim Davis
PEMBROKE PINES | Asked to name a few saints, most people likely wouldn't think of St. Edward. But perhaps they should. For our current era of wars, poverty and wasteful spending, this millennial king of England sets an example for peace and benevolence.
Edward, whose feast day falls on Oct. 13, was born near Oxford between 1003 and 1005. He was the son of King Ethelred II, who was deposed by the Danes. Edward's family was exiled to the court of an uncle in Normandy.
In exile, Edward showed more love for prayer and assisting at Mass than for power and worldly pleasures. But in 1042, after the death of the Danish king, he was called to take the English throne.
His reign was marked by gentleness and prosperity. He ended some taxes and reduced others. He was generous to the poor and lived on his family's inheritance, rather than money from the royal coffers. Instead, he rebuilt churches and monasteries, as well as giving to the poor. He caught a servant stealing from him — three times — but released him. "He needs it more than I do," the king remarked.
So austere was Edward's personal life that one source, the BBC, said he was "rather like a crowned monk." Pressed into marriage for appearance's sake, he lived with his wife in celibacy and never sired a child.
Edward also avoided war for most of his reign, except for quelling a Welsh rebellion. When a rival for his throne, Earl Godwin, brought a fleet to fight him, Edward met him and they settled peaceably.
Numerous stories said that Edward's very touch could heal. He is said to have healed people from scrofula, or tuberculosis of the lymph nodes in the neck.
In one story, a man's blindness was cured with water that had washed Edward's hands. In another, the king hoisted a crippled man onto his shoulders and carried him to church — an act that healed the man during the trip.
Edward had promised that if he could gain the throne in England, he would visit St. Peter's tomb in Rome, but duties of state prevented him from going. Instead, he built the imposing Westminster Abbey in honor of Peter.
He didn't get to visit that apostle, but another one may have visited him. According to a legend, Edward took a golden ring off his finger and gave it to a beggar. Soon after, a stranger met two men in the Holy Land, handed them the ring, and told them to return it to the king.
"I am John the Evangelist," the man said, according to the legend. He added that in a few months, he would escort Edward to heaven. Edward died soon after, on Jan. 6, 1066. His remains lie at Westminster.
But his influence reached beyond death: For centuries, people visited his tomb to ask for healing. King Richard II even prayed there for help against the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.
In 1102, Edward's tomb was opened and his corpse was found incorrupt, even emitting a sweet fragrance. He was honored as the patron saint of England for centuries, before being replaced by St. George in 1348.
The South Florida church that bears his name sits about two miles from the Everglades, serving the growing communities of southwestern Broward County. But St. Edward parish is actually a double namesake.
It was named first for the English king when the late Archbishop Edward McCarthy announced its creation in 1995. Less formally, the congregants also considered the parish named for Archbishop McCarthy himself, as the last parish he founded before his retirement.
Its first pastor was Father Michael Eivers, who was reassigned from St. Boniface in eastern Pembroke Pines. The members met first in individual homes, then at public schools. But the church had its first building by January 2000.
Under the current pastor, Father John Peloso, St. Edward retired its debt with a mortgage-burning celebration in May 2019. By then, the congregation had grown to 2,800 members, with 44 ministries and Mass in Spanish as well as English.
