By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Trinitarian Father Alberto Rodriguez: Born April 8, 1950; entered religious life Sept. 8, 1981; ordained Aug. 15, 1987; died April 14, 2017.
MIAMI | Funeral services will take place Wednesday, April 19, at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Church for Trinitarian Father Alberto Rodriguez, who died April 14 at St. Anne's Nursing Center after several months of declining health.
Father Rodriguez had served as parochial vicar at St. Maximilian Kolbe in Pembroke Pines and most recently as parochial vicar at Holy Rosary-St. Richard in Palmetto Bay.
Born April 8, 1950 in Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba, Father Rodriguez was baptized Oct. 28, 1950 and confirmed Aug. 4, 1968, at La Purísima Concepción Church in Cárdenas. He entered the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives Sept. 8, 1981, and made simple vows Sept. 8, 1982 at Holy Trinity Monastery in Pikesville, Maryland. He made solemn vows Oct. 4, 1986; was ordained to the diaconate May 2, 1987 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.; and was ordained a priest Aug. 15, 1987 at St. Dominic Church in Miami.
Before returning to Miami for ministry, Father Rodriguez served at Christ the King Parish in Corpus Christi, Texas; Estrella del Mar y Jesús Salvador in Champerico, Guatemala; Our Lady of Sorrows and Holy Trinity Chapel in Victoria, Texas; and Holy Name of Jesus in West Palm Beach.
Father Rodriguez also spent time assisting at the order’s missions in India.
"He will be remembered for his ministry to Spanish speaking immigrants in Texas and Florida, his concern for persecuted Christians and his quick wit and sense of humor," said his religious superior, Father William J. Axe, minister provincial for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Province, in a letter notifying the community of Father Rodriguez's death.
Father Axe added that Father Rodriguez "was a capable translator, using his talents to assist in the preparation of Spanish language prayers."
Father Rodriguez is survived by a brother, José A. Rodriguez (and his wife, Lidia), a niece, Marlene Alvarez-Jacinto (and her husband Manuel), and two nephews: Antonio Rodriguez (and his wife Liz), and Nelson Rodriguez (and his wife Elizabeth.)
Visitation will take place at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Church, 7500 S.W. 152 St., Palmetto Bay, on Wednesday, April 19, from 2 to 6:45 p.m. The funeral Mass will celebrated immediately afterward, at 7 p.m.
His body then will be transferred to Holy Trinity Monastery in Pikesville, where the Syro-Malabar Office for the Dead will be chanted in the chapel at 11 a.m. Friday, April 21. Burial will follow in the monastery cemetery.
