Photographer: PRISCILLA GREEAR | FC

Archbishop Thomas Wenski leads the way for 470 bikers and riders at the 2025 Motorcycle Ride held on Jan. 26, 2025 from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral to St. Justin the Martyr Church in Key Largo.

MIAMI | Blessed with divinely sunny weather and a motorcycle-friendly Advent schedule, Archbishop Thomas Wenski zoomed north some 200 miles in early December on his Harley Davidson Street Glide for a Florida bishop meeting in the Venice Diocese. Then next week the holy rider sped over 150 miles down Overseas Highway to dedicate the new building of Basilica High School in Key West, inhaling the ocean refreshment. On New Year’s Day he hit the bike to celebrate a Mass for the Haitian community at St. Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs. In January he trekked 300 miles and crossed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the Florida bishops’ retreat near Tampa, logging over 2,000 miles by mid-January. For the shepherd of the Miami Archdiocese, it’s a prayerful, immersive experience-- particularly in South Florida traffic.

“It helps you clear the mind, clear the cobwebs in your mind because you’ve got to concentrate on riding and not brooding about problems,” said Archbishop Wenski. “If you’re on the highway on the turnpike or US 27 or on a small side road around the Ocala forest, it’s very exhilarating, very nice. You experience nature.”

Photographer: PRISCILLA GREEAR | FC

From left: Hector Leal, George Gutierrez and Yvonne Acevedo gear up for the Archbishop's 2025 Motorcycle Ride on Jan. 26, starting at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral and ending at St. Justin the Marty Church in Key Largo. Gutierrez is president of Knights on Bikes Florida of the Knights of Columbus.

Culminating his winter streak on the fresh, sunny morn of Jan. 26, 2025, Archbishop Wenski revved up 357 bikers and 113 riders for Christ at the 13th Annual Archbishop’s Motorcycle Ride. The enthusiastic riders sporting denim, leather and vests with chalices and other religious patches gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral, a designated pilgrimage site this Jubilee Year offering the bonus of an indulgence for those who met requisites and rode courteously. The new 63.2 mile route ended at St. Justin the Martyr Church in Key Largo complete with food trucks and entertainment. Proceeds benefitted Catholic Charities’ St. Luke’s Center providing inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment, serving over 250 clients yearly. The presenting sponsor was Manaty Transportation with other top sponsors TD Bank, Realty One Group Evolution and Peterson’s Harley Davidson.

Outside Guadalupe riders showcased their shiny, colorful motorbikes and three wheel trikes, from a neon green neon Kawasaki to royal blue Triumph with American flag.  Allamo Moraes readied to ride with his young son Benjamin, describing his longest trek of over 20,000 miles from Argentina to Alaska then back to Florida. Marco Norori and Dennyson Padillo arrived at 6:30 a.m. for their annual bike pilgrimage. “It’s riding with the archbishop leading the way. We go to Mass first. You get the blessing of Mass, the archbishop blessing the bike and we go on our ride. It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Norori.

Added Padillo, “we need the blessing especially in South Florida with the way people drive down here!”

Photographer: PRISCILLA GREEAR | FC

Over 350 bikers revved their engines at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral to begin the Archbishop's 2025 Motorcycle Ride to St. Justin the Martyr Church in Key Largo on Jan. 26, 2025.

George Gutierrez, president of Knights on Bikes Florida of the Knights of Columbus, joined 45 Knight riders statewide from diocese of Orlando, Venice and St. Petersburg along with 22 from South Florida. “(The archbishop) has a direct line upstairs. To me it’s very spiritual that we’re riding with him. And most of these people are Catholic so there’s a lot of spirituality right here and now,” said Gutierrez. “And if not (Catholic) we’re evangelizing those who most need it by leading by example. My whole family shows up here and some aren’t even Catholic anymore and now they’re going to church. Now they are getting more into it. They see you are having fun riding a motorcycle and still having that spirituality and it’s brought some right into church.”

Gutierrez rode in solidarity with those suffering from addiction. “I feel a certain connection because I sympathize with them. I can imagine there are quite a few here who have been through the program. That’s why it’s anonymous.”

The clerical delegation included Father Israel Mago, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe; Father Agustin Estrada, priest secretary of Archbishop Wenski;  Father Juan Pedro Hernandez, pastor of Mother of Our Redeemer Parish in Miami; Father Matthew Gomez, dean of Propaedeutic Program at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and Father Julio de Jesus, pastor of St. John XXIII Parish in Miramar.  The archbishop spoke at the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Jesus’ declaration of his mission to bring good tidings to the afflicted, liberty to captives, site the blind and freedom to the oppressed. Likewise, Catholics are called to live the fifth Gospel through spiritual and corporal works of mercy. “Today we are doing the motorcycle ride for the benefit of St. Luke addiction and recovery center of the Catholic Church for people who are suffering from various addictions of drugs and alcohol through a residential program to be freed of that oppression.”

Photographer: PRISCILLA GREEAR | FC

Bikers Dennyson Padilla, left, and Marco Norori chat before the 8:30 a.m. Mass to start the 13th annual Archbishop's 2025 Motorcycle Ride held on Sunday, Jan. 26 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral.

He prayed for God’s protection on route to Key Largo. “The Holy Spirit will anoint us and strengthen our witness as members of Christ’s body the church. May the Catholic faith in fullness and authority be professed, celebrated, lived and prayed by each one of us so that Jesus Christ is not only on our lips but also in our hearts. So in this way we will bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to the captives and site to the blind.”

Afterwards the archbishop sprinkled holy water to bless the bikers, who raised kick stands by 9:45 a.m. and processed in line.  Yvonne Acevedo has biked for 23 years and, after a seven year break due to family illness, in 2024 purchased a Harley Davidson Breakout. “It’s the camaraderie. When you’re riding you feel you’re with the earth, with God. It’s very spiritual,” she said. “I’m breaking out on my Breakout!”

Juan Ramirez is a founder of the Emmaus Riders bikers group at Our Lady of Guadalupe that rides every Thursday. Hardly rough riders, members provide about 80 meals for the homeless downtown monthly and serve breakfast at Emmaus retreats. “The way we live we don’t care about people who suffer from alcohol and drugs. We leave them alone,” he said. “If we can save only one soul that will be enough for us. All these people who ride bikes today are not Catholic. It’s one day they can come together and see Jesus here with the archbishop. A lot of people only like to ride bikes but are not Catholic. For me it’s a blessing because anytime I can help somebody who needs it it’s something… to give for Jesus.”

Photographer: JUAN DIPRADO | FC

Archbishop Thomas Wenski sprinkles holy water to bless bikers, riders and supporters at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral for the 13th Annual Archbishop's 2025 Motorcycle Ride held on Jan. 26, 2025. Proceeds benefitted St. Luke's Center for drug and alcohol abuse treatment, a program of Catholic Charities of Miami.

The event raised over $22,000 with net proceeds benefitting St. Luke building maintenance for 20 rooms. The program uses evidence-based psychoeducational materials including a spiritual component and clients stay on average for 80 days. Catholic Charites CEO Peter Routsis-Arroyo estimated about 75 percent of clients have experienced homelessness. “The idea is to get them substance abuse free and through case management help them back into the community including finding housing and work. It’s pretty intensive,” he said.

Archbishop Wenski bought his first bike, a Honda Shadow, near his 50th birthday from a lawyer friend. In between charity rides, he loves to zip over to Ave Maria University in Naples and down to Key West, where he’ll return for confirmation in March. Memorable rides include a journey down the Blue Ridge Parkway and to open the Port of Miami Tunnel. Crisscrossing Florida, “I’m always surprised that they recognize me. I can be with my helmet on and I get to a place and before I take my helmet off they say hey archbishop, how you doing?”

He previously participated in rides for Catholic Charities of Orlando and police departments where “it occurred to me I could do my own.” The first ride was held in 2012 as a poker run. Turning 75, he will submit his resignation this year to Pope Francis  yet “I hope that as long as I’m around it continues.” 

This year’s event was “fantastic.” “I’m very happy that it’s getting bigger and bigger every year. That means more support for St. Luke’s Center so that’s a good thing. And I have a lot of fun doing it…I’ve had people at the bike ride tell me that they were clients or their kids were clients there and that’s one of the reasons they were there to support it,” he said. “It was a great thing to see all those bikers in church.”

Photographer: PRISCILLA GREEAR | FC

Members of Knights on Bikes Florida pray during the 8:30 a.m. Mass to begin the 13th Annual Archbishop's 2025 Motorcycle Ride held on Jan. 26, 2025 starting at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doral. Knights on Bikes, a Catholic motorcycle group whose members are all Knights of Columbus, strives to build fellowship and spread God's love.