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Fire-damaged Church Rededicated in Miami

On December 20, 2002, Fr. George Knab, OMI, then pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in the Overtown section of Miami, FL, had the sad experience of  learning that an arsonist had set more than one fire in his historic parish church.  The parishioners too were heartbroken since they had just celebrated the 75^th jubilee of their parish the previous August.  Adding to their sorrow was the knowledge that the fire had likely been set by a 12 year old boy who was angry because of being expelled from the parish school.  Christmas that year was celebrated in the school cafeteria.

But the sadness has now turned to celebration and joy.  On Sunday, August 8, 2004, Archbishop John Clement Favalora of Miami, dedicated the restored and redecorated church before a standing-room-only crowd of parishioners and guests.  Fr. John Madigan, OMI, the current pastor, expressed his delight over both the new look of the worship space and the support of the archdiocese in responding to the continued needs of the parishioners of St. Francis Xavier.

St. Francis Xavier had its humble beginnings in a storefront church in 1927.  Located in the heart of historic Overtown, just north of downtown Miami, St. Francis Xavier was originally a “mission” of the downtown parish of the Gesù, under the care of the Jesuits.  In 1967, the first archbishop of Miami, Most. Rev. Coleman Carroll, designated it a parish of the archdiocese.  The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been there since 1979.

Because St. Francis Xavier had been a mission church when it was originally built, it had never been formally consecrated.  Archbishop Favalora remedied that situation with the solemn rite of anointing the new marble altar and the walls of the church.

The following have served as Oblate pastors of St. Francis Xavier: William Mason, Joseph Ferraioli, James Crowley, Jack Lau, and Gordon Orsino, George Knab, and John Madigan.

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