Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Parish
Established in 2001, Our Lady of Guadalupe serves Catholics in Doral, a city as young as the parish. Led by founding pastor Msgr. Tomas M. Marin, the city’s first Catholic parish attracted more than 3,000 families from 44 countries in a short time. Mass was celebrated at the Eugenia B. Thomas Elementary School cafeteria until December 2015, when the parish, under its second pastor, Father Israel Mago, dedicated its permanent church, chapel and parish center, located on the corner of N.W. 25th Street and 116th Avenue. To this day, a hospitality committee welcomes all first time parishioners with a bouquet of flowers and a special song. First time parishioners are asked to bring flowers in the following week to welcome the new firstcomers at the fast-growing church.
Religious education classes instruct about 500 children from first grade to twelfth grade. The parish partners with St. Martin de Porres, collecting and distributing clothes, food, and toys to the migrant families in Homestead.
The parish annually celebrates the feast of its patron on December 12. A Mariachi choir performs at this Mass, and this celebration attracts many from surrounding communities. Children dress in their native attire during this feast; at Christmas, children hold a pageant to honor the Christ Child.
Our Mission:
1990
During the year 1998, Mrs. Alicia Ortega which at the time was a reporter for a local Television Station, asked her father (Rev. Deacon Ray Ortega) for guidance as to which parish should she attend. Alicia had recently moved to the then uncorporated Dade County area of Doral. She contacted the Archdiocese of Miami and was told that Blessed Trinity Church in Miami Springs was the parish for Doral. Before an area becomes a city there is usually a community council that serves as liaison with the County authorities. This council is composed of volunteer residents. Alicia approached this group and they embraced the idea of a Catholic presence in Doral. Similarly, before a parish is founded in an area, a catholic mission is formed and guided by the mother church, in this case Blessed Trinity.
The Doral Mission was to fill a need for the residents. By having this Mission the area was on the way to become a welcoming, cohesive, and warm community. The Archbishop Most Rev. Favarola was approached and he instructed the Blessed trinity pastor Rev Joseph Carney to establish the Doral Mission. The rest is history. Blessed Trinity manned the mission, father Carney officiated the first mass the last Sunday of August on 1999.
Deacon Denise Jordan was officially appointed, and different priests rotated for the only mass on Sundays at 8:00 am.
Mrs. Barbara Romani was assigned to be the lay minister for the area, the site arranged by Blessed Trinity was the cafeteria at John Smith Elementary School. Forty nine (49) people attended the first mass, a dynamic core group started actively and relentlessly spreading the word of the Missions presence.
Pamphlets appeared at shopping centers, bumper stickers were distributed all announcing the Good news... A catholic Mission was now present at Doral. An urn was constructed and a "Peregrine Virgin" visited and on occasions stayed overnight at 120+ homes.
2000
A Rosary campaign was started asking Our Lady to intercede on our behalf for the success of the Mission.
This became the fastest growing mission in the history of the Archdiocese of Miami. Only three years later Archbishop Favarola appointed Rev. Msgr. Tomas Marin to be our full time priest, and on September 1st 2001 the Mission became Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at Doral. Msgr. Marin was named Pastor and was active for nine years.
2010
On July 1st 2010, Rev. Israel E. Mago became our Parish Administrator on a fast track to become our second Pastor. Presently we have 7000 + families registered and in a not distant future we plan to build our Church building in land already prepared for the construction. We hope and pray to Our lady of Guadalupe that this also will be done in record time !
