5/5 Ariel W. 3 years ago on Google
The
Church
of
the
Little
Flower
was
established
in
1926
by
a
small
group
of
Catholics
in
the
newly
established
town
of
Coral
Gables.
The
new
parish
was
named
in
honor
of
Saint
Thérèse
of
Lisieux,
known
as
"The
Little
Flower"
and
a
temporary
church
was
built
in
1928.
A
boarding
school
was
established
by
the
Sisters
of
St.
Joseph
in
1925.
They
had
plans
to
expand
it
but
the
crash
of
the
Florida
land
boom
spurned
on
by
two
hurricanes
and
the
Great
Depression
cancelled
their
plans.
The
sisters
signed
the
deed
to
the
the
school
over
to
the
church.
The
school
was
renamed
the
St.
Theresa
School
and
it
became
a
parochial
school
for
the
parish.
Father
Thomas
Comber,
a
missionary
priest
from
Ireland,
was
charged
with
building
the
church.
He
envisioned
something
grand
for
the
new
church
building
but
the
lack
of
funds
necessitated
something
more
simple.
The
first
church
building
was
a
parish
center
and
auditorium
that
seated
800
and
which
was
dedicated
in
1928.
It
wasn't
until
1951
that
the
present
church
got
the
ornate
exterior
that
Father
Comber
desired.
With
the
prosperity
after
WWII,
Father
Comber
asked
the
Barry
and
Jay
Company
of
Architects
to
build
the
church
as
he
first
envisioned
it.
The
original
1920
plans
were
consulted
and
the
church
was
built
with
stained
glass
windows
designed
by
William
Haley
with
the
building
in
the
ornate
Spanish
Renaissance
style,
to
blend
with
the
Mediterranean
Revival
architecture
used
by
George
Merrick
when
designing
Coral
Gables.
The
church
was
dedicated
by
Archbishop
Joseph
P.
Hurley
of
Saint
Augustine,
Florida
on
December
8,
1952.
It
is
still
in
use
today.
The
church
was
renovated
in
1987
and
Comber
Hall
was
renamed
in
honor
of
Rev.
Msgr.
Thomas
P.
Comber,
Little
Flower's
first
pastor.
Also
in
1987,
a
new
rectory
was
built
across
the
street.
Today
the
Church
of
the
Little
Flower
is
a
landmark
in
Coral
Gables.
In
June
2019,
Fr.
Manny
Alvarez
was
named
the
9th
Pastor
of
Church
of
the
Little
Flower
and
Saint
Theresa
School.
The
church
has
been
associated
with
two
presidential
candidates,
Marco
Rubio
and
Jeb
Bush.
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