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History of St. Mark Parish
“From humble beginnings . . . “
In 1984, St. Ita, a mission to St. Bernadette
Catholic Church in Hollywood, was established. A group
of about 60 Catholics from Sunshine Ranches and the
surrounding community celebrated Mass in a volunteer
firehouse on Hancock Road.
As the faith community grew, Archbishop Edward McCarthy
saw the need for a permanent Church in the area. With
Rev. William Hennessey as founding pastor, St. Mark
Parish was established in July 1985. Shortly
thereafter, a lease arrangement was made with the Schott
Memorial Center and services were held in their chapel
for the next five (5) years.
In 1987, Fr. Hennessey oversaw the development of
a Master Plan to address both the present and future
needs of the Parish family. This plan included the
building of a Parish Center, a permanent Church and an
elementary school complex. At the time, the Parish was
comprised of over 300 families and growing rapidly.
Further, no one could have ever foreseen the future
impact that Hurricane Andrew in 1992 would have on the
influx of families into the area.
Also in 1987, a Parish fundraising campaign was
launched to secure the funds necessary to construct the
Parish Center. The Parish community was asked to help
reduce the nearly $2 million cost of the Parish Center
and the beginnings of the school building. Remarkably,
this small body of faithful willingly stepped up to
raise $750,000 and provided Fr. Hennessey the ability to
move forward with the construction of the Parish Center
and four (4) classrooms.
On December 2, 1990, the St. Mark Parish Center
was dedicated. Shortly thereafter, the first school
building was completed and pressed into service.
In 1995, with Monsignor Robert Lynch as pastor,
our second school building was constructed and
dedicated. Msgr. Lynch was with us only six months
before becoming the Bishop of St. Petersburg. Although
his stay was brief, he left his mark.
In 1996, Rev. Edmond Whyte, long-time pastor at
Our Lady of the Lakes (Miami Lakes) was assigned to St.
Mark as the new pastor. Having successfully built new
Churches in Key Largo and Miami Lakes, Fr. Whyte was
tasked with not only continuing the construction plan
for St. Mark but also the construction of Archbishop
Edward A. McCarthy High School.
In 1999, the Archdiocese of Miami and the parish
leaders of St. Mark determined the Parish had outgrown
the Parish Center as a worship space and needed to
return the building to its eventual intended use - - a
parish hall for use by the many ministries and
organizations of the Church and school.
In early 2000, a major capital campaign was
successfully launched to raise the $5 million necessary
to go to contract on the basic new Church
structure and to satisfy our Vision 2000 obligation.
Shortly thereafter, the decision was made to move
forward with the entire Master Plan all at once.
Ground was broken on the new Church complex in
September 2002.
Church is built: ‘Finally!’
After tragedy and delays, St. Mark Parish dedicates new
church
by Ana Rodriguez - Soto - (The Florida Catholic)
“Finally!”
With that one word, Archbishop John C. Favalora summed
up the sentiment of St. Mark Parish's 4,800 families at
the dedication May 21 of their new and glorious church.
“It took 46 years to build the temple of Jerusalem.
We're far short of that,” the archbishop noted.
Just over 40 years short, in fact. But from planning to
dedication, St. Mark took longer than the average church
building project. The groundbreaking took place in
September 29, 2002, and architectural planning meetings
started more than a year earlier.
“Much water has run under the bridge,” admitted Father
Edmond Whyte, St. Mark's pastor. “It has been a trying
time in some sense, but a time of grace, too.”
The tragic deaths of the project manager, Jim McElroy,
and general contractor, Vincent Perini, accounted for
most of the delays in building the massive, octagonal
structure which rises 80 feet at its center and is
paired with a 120-foot-tall bell tower.
The archdiocese's Building Commission eventually took
over the project, led by director Bob Brown and
assistant director James Detrick.
In fact, Father Whyte joked, the three considered
opening up their own general contracting business:
Brown, Detrick and Whyte. Father Whyte would
qualify as a general contractor based not only on his
experience at St. Mark. This is the third church
construction the 68-year-old priest has overseen. He
also built St. Justin Martyr Church in Key Largo, where
he was founding pastor, and the permanent church of Our
Lady of the Lakes in Miami Lakes.
The construction delays raised St. Mark's final price
tag to $15 million, Father Whyte said. But the result,
said those who took part in the dedication liturgy, is
well worth it.
“Oh my God, it's spectacular,” said parishioner Waldy
Gonzalez. “This is breathtaking. It's such a blessing.
Father Whyte did a spectacular job.”
Mike Smith, St. Mark's director of development, said he
had driven along Flamingo Road the night before the
dedication, when the church was lit. “Traffic was
slowing up, looking at the stained glass windows,” he
said.
St. Mark's cupola is in fact intended to function as a
beacon for passersby. It takes the shape of a lantern
with stained glass on eight sides reflecting the light
from below.
The cupola rises above a compression ring that supports
a “glue lam” wood system that serves as the roof
structure, Brown said. Like the cupola, the church is
octagonal in shape, with massive columns that separate
the ambulatory space from the nave. The columns are
reminiscent of Romanesque style, set in a modern design.
Architect Peter Kosinski described the design as “a
contemporary statement of a very classical approach.”
“It follows the liturgical guidelines of the (Second
Vatican) Council, to keep as many members of the
congregation as close as possible to the celebrant,”
said Kosinski, whose firm specializes in churches. They
have designed nearly 100 throughout the country.
The backdrop of the sanctuary is a wall of cut coquina
stone upon which hangs a life-size corpus of the
crucified Christ. The altar and ambo are made of marble.
All the columns, exterior and interior walls are made of
concrete clad in pre-cast brick veneer. Their white
color is set off by the floor's gold and slate-colored
porcelain tile and light-wood benches.
The baptismal font is an immersion pool whose water
trickles down from a basin located inside the Blessed
Sacrament chapel. Two large cry rooms occupy the back of
the church on either side, their glass walls accentuated
by wooden crosspieces. A large, flowing fountain greets
people as they enter the church, and ramps framed by
more columns lead them inside.
On the outside are 15 pairs of doors made of solid Costa
Rican mahogany. The doors weigh around 300 pounds apiece
and three men were needed to hang each one, said job
superintendent Rick Taylor.
The church can seat 1,500, with standing room for 500
more. Both Archbishop Favalora and Father Whyte
reminded the congregation, however, that the church is
more than a building. It is the people of God who gather
there to worship.
“While we are today dedicating a physical temple, our
teachings tell us that we are the structure, the people
of God, the church. Each one of us becomes a temple
where God resides,” Archbishop Favalora said. He
called the building's completion the “crowning touch” in
the parish's 21-year-history. Father Whyte has served as
pastor for the last 10. He was preceded by Msgr. William
Hennessey, now archdiocesan vicar general, who guided
the parish from its founding through its first decade.
In between came Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg,
who served for nine months before his appointment as
bishop.
Father Whyte said St. Mark's physical plant is now
essentially completed, with a fountain-adorned piazza
and covered walkways tying together all the elements:
the elementary school, parish hall and church.
“It's a great, great day,” said Annie Martinez, a
parishioner for 14 years who works at St. Mark School .
“Now we're done.”
“We waited so long,” said Norma Rodriguez, a parishioner
for the past 15 years. “This is going to be a whole new
chapter. There's going to be blessings no matter what.”
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