Catholic Heritage
Catholic Heritage & Sacred Places
Historic churches, shrines and sacred places across Southwest Florida — plus Florida's great pilgrimage destinations worth the trip. Every listing is verified against official sources; please confirm hours before visiting.
In Southwest Florida
- Ave Maria Catholic Church (The Oratory)Ave Maria, FLAve Maria's striking steel-framed church, dedicated in 2008 and the heart of the town's Catholic community.
- Epiphany CathedralVenice, FLCathedral of the Diocese of Venice since 1984, grown from a 1935 mission of Sarasota's St. Martha Parish.
- Mother Teresa MuseumAve Maria, FLMuseum at Ave Maria University interpreting Saint Teresa of Calcutta's life through bilingual panels, handwritten letters and personal relics.
- Our Lady of Mercy Catholic ChurchBoca Grande, FLBoca Grande's 1950 island church, designed by architect F. Burrell Hoffman through a gift from Gertrude Hill Gavin.
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality CenterVenice, FLRetreat center with an outdoor Marian shrine, St. Joseph Chapel, Stations of the Cross and a Rosary Walk around the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament.
- Sacred Heart Catholic ChurchPunta Gorda, FLPunta Gorda's Catholic parish since 1929, rebuilt in 2008 after Hurricane Charley destroyed the previous church.
- Saint Ann Catholic Church and Rooney HallNaples, FLNaples' historic Catholic parish, established in 1954, with Rooney Hall — the restored early-1950s former church, Collier County's first Catholic church.
- St. Francis Xavier Catholic ChurchFort Myers, FLFort Myers' Catholic community since the nineteenth-century Jesuit missions; a parish since 1910.
- St. Martha Catholic ChurchSarasota, FLSarasota's mother parish, rooted in an 1889 Jesuit mission, with a present church dedicated in 1942 and ties to the city's circus heritage.
- St. Paul Catholic ChurchArcadia, FLArcadia's Catholic parish, with a mission dating to 1890 and a first church built in 1915.
Worth the Trip
Beyond Southwest Florida — destination shrines and historic churches across the state.
- Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea and Lourdes GrottoKey West, FLKey West's historic basilica, built in 1904–1905, with a beloved 1922 Lourdes Grotto associated with prayers for protection from hurricanes.
- Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the UniverseOrlando, FLBasilica and national shrine serving as a sanctuary of pilgrimage and prayer for visitors to the Orlando area.
- Cathedral Basilica of St. AugustineSt. Augustine, FLThe cathedral parish of America's oldest Catholic community, tracing its beginnings to St. Augustine's founding in 1565.
- Mission Nombre de Dios and National Shrine of Our Lady of La LecheSt. Augustine, FLAmerica's first Marian shrine, marking the 1565 landing of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and the first thanksgiving Mass on Florida soil.
- National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity (La Ermita)Miami, FLBayside shrine honoring Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba, built by Miami's Cuban exile community and dedicated in 1973.
- Saint Leo Abbey and Grotto of Our Lady of LourdesSaint Leo, FLBenedictine abbey founded in 1889, with the university's 1916 Lourdes Grotto and 1935 Gethsemane Grotto across the road.
- Schoenstatt Shrine of MiamiMiami, FLMarian shrine of the Schoenstatt movement in southern Miami-Dade, a replica of the original shrine in Germany.