Feature News

Media-savvy sisters

Through bookstore, coffeehouse, Daughters of St. Paul have evangelized south Florida for 50 years

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blanca Morales - Florida Catholic

MIAMI — In the Archdiocese of Miami, the “Paulinas” have become a household name.

“They are awesome!” said 12-year-old Gaby Garcia.

She was speaking of the Daughters of St. Paul, known as the Paulinas throughout Latin America. The religious order dedicated to spreading the Gospel through the media — books, CDs, DVDs, the Internet — celebrated its 50th anniversary in Miami Nov. 6.

The congregation was founded in Alba, Italy in 1915 by Father James Alberione. The first women to enter the Daughters of St. Paul pronounced their vows in 1922. Today there are over 2,560 sisters in 50 countries.

The congregation came to the U.S. in 1932. Mother Paula Cordero and several Pauline sisters actually stopped in Miami before traveling north. The North American province, consisting of the U.S. and English-speaking Canada, has 140 sisters and 15 Pauline Books and Media Centers.

Shortly after the Archdiocese of Miami was established in 1958, the Daughters of St. Paul received an invitation from Archbishop Coleman Carroll to start a Pauline community in Miami.

Since November 1959, the sisters have been carrying out the mission of evangelization through their books and media store. The first Paulinas store was located on Biscayne Boulevard near N.W. 36 Street. They moved to Sweetwater in 1987 as a pastoral response to the growing Hispanic population in the archdiocese.
The bookstore, located at 145 S.W. 107 Ave., sells a vast variety of Catholic media, from books to music to DVDs.

Luz Román, who has worked at the bookstore for the past 16 years, says her experience there has been a positive one. “I have learned so much from the sisters’ example.”

Román has met many Pauline sisters throughout the years. Just as St. Paul moved from city to city teaching and founding communities, the sisters share his missionary calling, and are transferred according to the needs throughout the province. Six Pauline sisters currently live and serve in Miami.

They do more than just sell books, however.

“What you see in the store is only 20 percent of what we do,” said Sister Marlyn Monge, one of two Pauline sisters serving in Miami who speak fluent Spanish.

From their Miami offices, they distribute Spanish books and media to other Pauline stores in the U.S. and Latin America. They also give talks at churches, record music, write books, host radio programs, and even offer book reviews for their YouTube followers.

BLANCA MORALES | FC Sister Marlyn Monge speaks to Archbishop John C. Favalora after the 50th anniversary Mass.

Unique to Miami is the Paulinas Coffeehouse, where the sisters host a monthly evening of music, talent, fellowship and prayer. The coffeehouse is a typical Pauline response to the dynamics of the cities in which they serve.

The Archdiocese of Miami is youthful, vibrant and full of energy. The coffeehouse, held the last Saturday of each month, is a reflection of that.

Aside from church bands playing the latest in Christian music, there are open mike opportunities for people to share their talents in music or verse. And as the name suggests, there is always coffee ready to greet all who come.

For the past four years, the Paulinas Coffeehouse has attracted local Catholics of all ages and stages: young and mature, single and married, clergy and laity. Some come from as far away as Palm Beach County.

The Paulinas use Facebook to keep their young followers updated on coffeehouse and Pauline happenings.

Javier Carranza, 25, has been attending the coffeehouse since it started. He said the opportunity to meet new people, as well as listen to good music, keeps him coming back. “I really love the fellowship and community here. There is a very welcoming, friendly atmosphere.”

Lindsay Rigby, 27, of St. Louis Parish in Pinecrest, said she has brought college friends to coffeehouse as a means of evangelization.

“Being Catholic is more than Church, it’s also about having fun together,” she said. In fact, one of the friends she invited is now undergoing the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in preparation for becoming a Catholic.
Many parents also have found that the coffeehouse is a great way to share their faith with their children.

“The music is fun and it’s about God,” said 10-year-old Moises Garcia, who came for the first time this year with his parents and siblings.

Sister Monge, who emcees the coffehouse, said her first year in Miami has been an exciting experience.
“The Church here is so alive, so full of joy. Being a part of the community here has been a blessing. There is a feeling of the universal Church,” she said.

Scripture and Eucharistic prayer are central to Pauline spirituality, and that also is reflected in the coffeehouse, which allows time for meditation on the Word, personal meditation, intercession and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

“You can’t give what you don’t have,” Sister Monge said in reference to Jesus.

In that spirit, the sisters gathered at St. Agatha Church Nov. 6 to thank God for their ministry in the archdiocese during the past 50 years.

They were joined by Archbishop John Favalora, who celebrated the Mass, as well as priests and seminarians from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, which also was marking its 50th anniversary that weekend.
In his homily, Father Ferdinand Santos, an instructor at St John Vianney, said that “when we religious and priests celebrate anniversaries, we take stock and pride only in the fact that we have contributed our small share to the work that is ultimately not our own, a work that was there before us, and will continue long after our time.”

Along with the offertory gifts, the sisters presented a basket containing a book, a CD, a DVD, a computer keyboard and a microphone to symbolize their work as “sister communicators of Christ.”

Sister Margaret Timothy Sato, the provincial superior, came from Boston to express her thanks to the Miami community.

“We wouldn’t be celebrating 50 years if not for the many people in the archdiocese who support our work,” she said.

Thanks be to God! I was pleased to be able to read the on-line article about the 50th Anniversary Celebration...
Know that this Thanksgiving week I thank God for all the good being done and all that will continue in his grace for the evangelization of so many through the communications media in South Florida. ¡Gloria a Dios! Like Sr. Lily, I have many memories of my time in Miami.
May God abundantly bless all those who have been, and are currently, cooperators in our mission. Our Spanish Radio apostolate for the province began in Miami in 1992!

I rejoice with all my sisters- those presently assigned to the Miami location as well as all the Daughters of St. Paul who have ministered there over the years- on the 50th Anniversary of the presence of the Paulinas in the great Archdiocese of Miami. I have very, very fond memories of my seven years of ministry work there at our "Libreria San Pablo" at 9808 SW 8th St. & our present location at the corner of Flagler & 107th Avenue. God bless you and all the people of the Archdiocese!

Sisters, Congratulations, looking forward to the next 50 years. You are a blessing to the Miami Community.
Lucia Mor, St Agatha Parishioner