Florida Catholic | A Golden Celebration For St. Peter Parish

A golden celebration for St. Peter Parish

The Big Pine Key parish has four big reasons to throw a party.

DANIEL SOÑÉ | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 06.20.08

Archbishop John C. Favalora invokes a blessing upon St. Peter’s new pastoral center as the pastor, Fr. Thomas Mullane (center), joins in the prayer.
DANIEL SOÑÉ | FC

BIG PINE KEY | It’s common knowledge that the residents and tourists in the Florida Keys don’t need a reason to celebrate – they just do it and always seem to have a good time. June 7 was no exception at St. Peter Parish here, a parish that has many reasons to party: confirmation, the completion of a new pastoral center, a golden jubilee and its pastor’s 40th anniversary

The festivities began at 5:30 p.m. with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop John C. Favalora, who confirmed 15 of the parish’s young people. Now considered full members of the church, the teens were challenged by the archbishop to pay attention and respond to the Lord as Abraham and Matthew did in Scriptures, saying, “You need to look inside yourselves and ask for the courage to have the faith, trust and response that Abraham and Matthew had. Pray for the courage to do that, because you will be tested.”

After Mass, the archbishop headed out to bless the parish’s new pastoral center. The pink two-story building contains offices, classrooms and a food pantry, which will help feed the needy on a regular basis and in times of crisis.

DANIEL SOÑÉ | FC
Father Thomas Mullane sports a big smile as he celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ordination, a golden anniversary of the parish and confirmation of parishioners.

DANIEL SOÑÉ | FC
Commenting on his snakeskin boots, Father Thomas Mullane said, “I had to take these out today. We’re celebrating this parish's 50th anniversary, my 40th priestly anniversary, and the Confirmation of 15 our parishioners.”

“There are a lot of homeless people in the Keys. A lot of people don’t know that. We feed a lot them here and this new building will help us do that even better,” said Father Thomas Mullane, the parish’s pastor.

St. Peter’s ability to feed its parishioners and neighbors was put on display for the evening’s final two reasons to celebrate: the parish’s 50th anniversary and the pastor’s 40th anniversary of his ordination as a priest. The celebration included a large buffet, live music and a piñata.

“Wow, what a spread! They have every salad you could want to try here,” said Archbishop Favalora.

Providing for its community is what St. Peter Parish has been about for the past 50 years. Over the course of its long history – a history as old as the Archdiocese of Miami itself – the parish has remained a tight-knit community church. To the parishioners and clergy of St. Peter, church equals family, said Father Mullane. “It is the people who make this special and provide all the memories. I have seen them grow like they were my own children.”

Father Mullane, who celebrated his 40th priestly anniversary with snakeskin boots on his feet and a grin on his face, was all hugs and laughs throughout the evening. The native of Limerick, Ireland, has celebrated Mass and given the sacraments to generations of the same families at St. Peter, where he has spent nearly all of his years of ministry.

“It has been a joy to give baptism and Communion to the children of the parents who I baptized and married. Family is so true here,” he said.

Archbishop Favalora, too, wasn’t short of compliments, noting that the parish’s family-oriented approach and structure enables it to be of great service to the surrounding communities. “This place is a center for this community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Georges, you can see this place just come together and people just helping each other. They provided (nearly) 3,000 meals every day during that aftermath,” he said.

“Coming together,” another theme of St. Peter’s parish life, was evident during the multipurpose celebration and over its past 50 years. Multiple generations of a family at St. Peter is a common sight. Dick Klepper, who came from Pennsylvania to see his grandson, Michael, be confirmed, attests to the power of the parish.

“I was a parishioner here for 30 years,” Klepper said. “I keep coming back because I feel nostalgic in Pennsylvania. This place is family for me. My son and grandson are here. Now I’m here, too.”

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