Beautiful church. The parishioners made me feel welcome and the service gave glory to the Lord.

Grew up going here. Do be aware of events happening near Bayside whenever you go. Great service, beautiful designs, great cafeteria downstairs! read more

By the pink color from out side you don't realize how peaceful and quite this church beautiful design read more

Gesu Catholic Church - Churches Near Me - Miami, Florida

I love historic churches and a Catholic church has sat on this site since 1896, making it Miami's oldest Catholic church. Catholic history in Miami goes back much further than that however to 1567 when Jesuit missionaries came to the Spanish settlement founded by Don Pedro Menendez de Avila at the mouth of the Miami River. A Jesuit priest wrote the first letter in Miami in 1568 describing the Tequesta Native Americans and complaining about the mosquitoes. The Wagner Family were the first Catholic family to settle at the mouth of the Miami River in 1850. In 1891 another Catholic family asked Henry M. Flagler, oil and railroad tycoon for land for a Catholic church which he donated even though he was a Presbyterian. A wood frame church was constructed in 1896 on the site but the church quickly out grew it. In 1922 it was replaced with the Gesu church and rectory that sits here today. Gesu Catholic School was built in 1926 but demolished in the 1980's. Gesu is the Italian word for Jesus. The ornate Mediterranean-style building was designed by Owen Williams. The Gesu Catholic Church has seen a lot of history through it's years. In the 1930's they provided services for African-Americans during segregation. In the 1940's they welcomed home and ministered to the soldiers returning from WWII. In the 1950's the church assisted Hispanic people immigrating to the United States. In the 1960's, the church became the home of the Belen Jesuit Preparatory School after they were expelled from Cuba by Fidel Castro. Mother Teresa visited when she was given a key to the City of Miami in 1974. On July 18, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic. Today the church continues to offer service. It is a popular wedding venue for Catholics in Miami. read more

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This church houses so much history! Gesu Church is home to Miami's oldest Catholic parish, Holy Name. Situated at the corner of NE 1st Avenue & NE 2nd Street in downtown Miami, the Mediterranean Revival building was designed by Orin T. Williams and completed in 1925. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It's so beautifully preserved and holds mass in both English and Spanish. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because their website was a little hard to navigate, so even though we wanted to attend a Spanish mass, we ended up showing up for an English one. read more

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I pass by this place weekly, I even park beside it but I always thought it was just some regular building in downtown Miami. But one day my eye's caught a hold of this Information board http://bit.ly/2P7q7TG . After reading that this is a functioning Jesuit founded Catholic Church and one of the oldest buildings in South Florida I knew I had to check this place out. Being a Witchdoctor it is my duty to understand the past present and future of things, especially relating to the spirit world. That being said, the history of the Jesuit and Templar orders is quite interesting. One interesting fact about early Jesuits and Templars was they didn't bath much, the Templar Knights in particular did not bathe at all throughout their whole life, they refused to touch women, and also never changed their undergarments. The Spanish Jesuits purposely built this church over a Tequesta Indian religious and burial site, but abandoned the church when the British took over Florida 1763. The Spanish then left to Havana with their evangelized Tequesta Indians. The outside of the church is modest, but the inside is beautiful. By no means is this church in the realm of magnificence of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, but for Miami it's quite a charm. The stained glass works are impeccable, many of the images of young Jesus are the splitting image of Damien from the movie The Omen, I kid you not. I walked throughout the whole church and I could barely breathe, it had nothing to do with the air quality, but everything to do with the life sucking energy and entities prevalent in this church. The altar statues and paintings are of the finest works, with striking colors and details. There is a small section cordoned off with an iron barrier, only accessible through a locked door. In it is housed multiple life sized statues of Jesus & saints etc, there was money littered all over the floor resulting from devotee's throwing money for blessings. But what intrigued me about this section was the life sized statues were actually alive, they oddly still housed the dark spirits the early Christians brought with them when they first invaded this part of the America's. Many of the spirits left the statues and came right up to me, they were intrigued that I could sense and see them, they were also interested in who I was, their presence caused every hair on my body to stand on end. There was one very ancient evil dark spirit in the statue to the furthest left in the corner, I had a quite interesting convo with that fellow. I know what you are thinking, what the hell am I talking about. Well the question you have to ask yourself is how did these diseased you can smell from a mile non-bathing dudes convert all of these ancient wise peoples in the Americas to the bible and the pope(those who survived the Native American holocaust)? Well it was quite easy, if you understand spiritual science. Once you allow them to put their hand on your head, and pray(evoke) as they claim they are doing, the dark spirits use their body as a medium traveling through their hands into your cranial cavity which is a spiritual portal into your body. Once it enters your body, you now have what they call the "Holy Spirit" which results in convulsing on the floor, foaming at the mouth and mumbling mumbo jumbo. From that moment on you're a servant of the dark ones and you'll never be the same again unless you are exorcised of said spirit or spirits which now reside in you. I'll definitely return to this beautiful church, but with much more spiritual protection so at least I can breathe in this place while enjoying its beauty and also the entertainment of interacting with the dark ones who reside here. read more

Gesu Catholic Church - Churches Near Me - Miami, Florida

This is probably the most spectacular Catholic church in Miami, even more so than Little Flower in the Gables and the St. Mary Cathedral - and for a reason - it's the oldest Catholic church in Miami. The church, after its inception in 1891 at this location, then built this bigger facility in 1922. It seats 800 parishioners and has a beautiful temple with polychromed crystal leaded widows made in Germany. All altars are made of Italian Marble. And there's a certain European feel you can get if you attend the masses here that is managed by the Jesuits of Antilles (of the Caribbean). It's definitely a historical landmark for the Catholics of South Florida. read more

Super gorgeous Catholic church in Miami! Came here earlier this month while on vacay with my friend. The church is absolutely beautiful! I wanna get married here LOL Mass was great, I was able to pay attention to the homily for once ha ha. If I were a Miami local I would make this my home parish. I'm not sure if they have a church gift shop but they did have a table outside selling rosaries. I bought a simple purple one for my collection. read more

This is such a wonderful church. Since my first visit when I was about 14, I knew this is the place I would marry my future husband. AND I DID! It is the oldest Catholic Church in South Florida. It has such a rich history and you can visit the "museum" which is located all around the back of the church. Sunday mass is a deep experience with a very old world feel even in the regular mass with the use of incense and the piano organ. I really don't know about the terrible experience one of the other Yelpers mentioned. From the very beginning, I had a fulfilling experience. Please don't be discouraged if you are planning to marry at Gesu, meet with Father as soon as possible as their dates do get booked very quickly. read more

I found the attempts of getting any information let alone speaking to anyone who has an idea about anything regarding marriage in this church is impossible. The church itself is gorgeous and what I liked about it was the history behind it. That is the only reason it was considered, however short that amount of time was. The enthusiasm about this church quickly died after several rude employees at the church repeatedly put me and my planner on hold for more then 30 minutes at a time to come back with not only no answers but no means to take any messages or a better time to call back. It took my planer and i literally calling back every hour on the hour in order to get any sort of assistance on their end. I have spoken to several churches over the past couple of months and all have been, at the very least, courteous on the phone. I spoke to a total of three different people here.. all completely clueless on anything regarding getting married here. I have seen weddings here and I honestly can't understand how they even got the first appointment scheduled. My experience with them was horrible and cost them my wedding and my mandatory 'donation'. I would still support anyone who wanted to marry here, the place is beautiful and there is substantial history behind it. Just a warning... the only way to actually talk to anyone is to call every hour on the hour until they are so annoyed with you that then will just give you information so you wont call anymore. read more

Beautiful Catholic Church! A lot of elderly people and you will find a lot of very weird people here, but you are in downtown Miami. Their doors are opened to anyone and everyone! They do have a variety of times to attend mass! That is very convenient! read more

Gesu is the most breathtaking Church I've ever seen. Aside from that Mass is celebrated several times a day. Confession is heard 3 times daily. The Priest always make themselves available. This is Holy Grounds! A place where you can pray, attend confession, and feel the Spirit of God! I thank God for this wonderful Church! read more

Go by on a Sunday and you are inundated. There are just so many people that are effusing from the interior after mass. Regardless of your religious affiliations or beliefs, you should at least come by to look at the building when the church is open. The detailing is great for this older, Greek Temple-style church. read more

Beautiful church! One of the oldest in Miami with an interesting history. There is a Sunday lunch offered in the downstairs cafeteria that is super cheap with good sized portions. Gesu sadly doesn't receive as many donations as other churches, which they rely on to continue operating and helping those in need, so please keep some dollars on hand to help them out when visiting! read more

We are blessed to have a beautiful historic space and place of prayer and contemplation amidst the hubub of our growing downtown - I'm talking the newly renovated Gesu Catholic Church staffed by compassionate multi-lingual clergy of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). I look forward to spending some private time there as we proceed into Lent this 2013. read more

beautiful gorgeous spectacular!! i first came to gesu last week for my cousins wedding rehearsal and was immediately awed. i always knew gesu was there but had never ventured inside. this church has feeling, history, emotion. it is breathtaking to look up at the artwork and the marble and old wooden pews made me feel warm and at home. which is weird since im not really a church goer, really only when i have to for weddings, funerals, and baptisms. walking up the aisle was impressive with the regal alter awaiting up front. the mass was given by fr. willie (although the rehearsal was done by fr eddie). they were both great but willie was just amazing. he made the mass so vibrant and personal and actually fun. his homily was moving and just made sense to all of us regular everyday non church people. the live duet singers sounded so great, initially i thought it was a cd. read more

Great place for a wedding. Been to several weddings in this church and they were all beautiful. The church itself does not need much decoration or flowers - it's extremely photogenic all on it's own. read more

This church is absolutely beautiful. I enjoy coming here a lot. I always go to the service in spanish & it's just lovely! I have not been to the one in english. read more

I love this place. I love Jesuits. See God in everything. That is certainly the feeling every time I walk into this Church. God is the center; we are created to love and serve Him. We serve Him hen we serve each other. I just summed up what Christianity is to me, and what it is in this Church. read more