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From storefront to forefront

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish celebrates its 25th anniversary.

MARLENE QUARONI | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 06.18.08

St. Maximilian Kolbe pastor Father Jeffrey McCormick preaches his homily during the 25th anniversary Mass June 15. “A lot of very dedicated people have helped make our parish a success.”
MARLENE QUARONI | FC

PEMBROKE PINES | Like many parishes, St. Maximilian Kolbe Church here had humble beginnings. 25 years ago, parishioners had to compete for parking spaces in the strip mall where their storefront sanctuary was located.

“I remember the time an irate merchant burst into the church as Father Harry Ringenburger, our founding pastor, celebrated Mass,” said Marie Marino, church bookkeeper, a pioneer parishioner and mother of Father Chris Marino, a priest in the Archdiocese of Miami. “He was angry because someone parked in his space.”

Parishioners also recall the time when a heavy rain caused the ceiling to fall on the altar. At the time, the facilities were very limited. Confessions were heard in the only private place in the storefront: the bathroom.

“And, who could forget the Christmas Eve Mass in a nearby park, during what must have been a record-breaking cold snap,” said Marino. “We were all freezing and bundled up in blankets, clutching hot chocolates.”

Following Father Ringenburger, Father Anthony Massi and Father Andrew Anderson served as pastors at St. Maximilian Kolbe.

MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Pioneer parishioner, Emily Dunn, 93, proclaims the first reading during the 25th Anniversary Mass.

In 1992, Father James Vitucci – the church’s pastor until his death in 2002 – and a group of parishioners were ready to clear the melaleuca trees growing in a mucky archdiocesan-owned lot at Hiatus Road and Johnson Street. They figured they’d save some money by taking out the trees themselves.

“We’d remove and stack the fallen trees,” said Maryann Hotchkiss, parish religious education director. “By the end of the day, we were covered in sweat, muck and were totally exhausted.”

After the tree removal, a contractor removed the muck and a modular structure was set up on the site.

On Palm Sunday in 1992, parishioners brought the Eucharist in a procession from the storefront to their new home. Congregants lined the procession’s path, tossing flowers along the way. The first Mass in the “Chapel in the Pines” was celebrated that Easter Sunday.

“There wasn’t any grass, pavement or trees,” said Hotchkiss. “So, once again, we gathered to lay sod, plant trees and put in sprinkler pipes.”

A groundbreaking for a new permanent building soon followed. Parishioners buried a “Capsule of Faith” under the present altar. It contained a Bible, an image of the Blessed Mother, a cross made out of a strip from a melaleuca tree, a list of the priests who had served at St. Maximilian Kolbe and the names of parishioners both living and dead. In addition, the capsule contained a mezuzah and ram’s horn as a symbol of solidarity with the Jews who died in concentration camps during World War II – most notably, the church’s namesake St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who gave up his life at Auschwitz so that a fellow prisoner could live.

In April 1994, Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy dedicated a new building, which would serve as the church until a permanent church building could be constructed. In 2004, a two-story education center for pre-school kids, youth and adult religious education and various ministries opened.

At an anniversary Mass June 15th, church pastor Father Jeffrey McCormick presented Archbishop John C. Favalora with a bust of St. Maximilian Kolbe. The bust depicts the saint being hugged by the man whose life he saved. Sister Margaret Beaudette, DePaul Studio Rosary Hall, Bronx, New York, created the work, as well as a similar full sculpture for the church several years previous.

Father McCormick, 45, who was born with cerebral palsy, has been part of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish since his early 20s. A former Miramar resident, he attended the nearby Schott Center for those with special needs, and was a cantor at the parish.

“A lot of very dedicated people have helped make our parish a success,” said Father McCormick.

Among those serving at the anniversary was 93-year-old Emily Dunn, who has been active at St. Maximilian Kolbe since the original storefront days. She tutored transitional deacons, who served at the church and who weren’t proficient in English, was a lector in the storefront church and continued the tradition by serving as a lector at the 25th anniversary Mass.

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