Prince of Peace.....Our History
Father Emilio Garcia
On March 4, 1966, the Decree of the Erection of the parish of Prince of Peace
was signed in St. Augustine by Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley. Father Emilio Garcia
is appointed Parish Administrator. Father Garcia makes arrangements with the
Whitlock family to use the former skating rink at the corner of Arroyo Parkway &
Nova Rd. as a temporary chapel. Father Garcia & Frank Jewell work with
parishioners to make the place ready for the first Mass on Easter Sunday,
April 10, 1966. In 1968 we become part of the Orlando Diocese & parishioners
volunteer to clear our property for construction of a new church. The church was
cruciform in design to bring all 500 seats close to the main altar. On the altar was
the marble mosaic that now resides in our chapel that depicts Christ arising from
the tomb. This sculpture by Vincente Rodilla of Valencia, Spain & a statue of Our
Lady Queen of Peace carved from a trunk of olive wood by J. Pons of Barcelona
reflected the Spanish origins of Father Garcia. The first Mass in this new church
was held on Mother's Day, May 11, 1969. The annual Octoberfest also began in
this year & credit for this idea goes to Jay Van Rhee.
In 1971 a quonset hut is donated by St. Paul's Parish. Under the guidance of
Stanley Szlosek, it is dismantled, transported & erected on our premises. It was
named CASA MATILDA, because a tractor named "Matilda" was housed in the rear
of the building.
In June of 1983, Father Joseph Nolin was named pastor of Prince of Peace & in
1984 a Fund Drive was held under the leadership of Floyd Treadway & Ralph
Hunnefeld to construct the Educational Center & Rectory.
Father Lawrence Redmond became pastor in May 1987. Our Parish embarked
on a new project called "Alive & Growing" to build a new & larger church. First
Mass was celebrated on December 8, 1991. Since that time, we have welcomed
Father Thomas McMackin, Father William Neumann & most recently Father
William Zamborsky as our pastor.
Matt Komatz, Barbara Van Rhee, & Ralph Hunnefeld
Frank Jewell, Harley Hoffaman, Jay Van Rhee & George Rossi