A Parish Born Over Plates at Eddie Egan's Restaurant
Saint David Catholic Church sits on South University Drive in Davie, Florida, just minutes from Nova Southeastern University, and its story is rooted in a kind of humble improvisation that still shapes the parish today. The community was founded on June 4, 1974, when Archbishop Coleman Carroll of Miami appointed Father Gabriel O'Reilly as the founding pastor. The first parishioners were a couple of hundred devoted families who attended Sunday Mass at Eddie Egan's Restaurant, with a Saturday evening Mass held at Dwight D. Eisenhower Grade School while the new congregation worked to build a permanent home.
Together, pastor and people organized a Men's Club, a Women's Club, a Saint Vincent de Paul Society, and a Religious Education Program, and they began the fundraising that would make a church possible. The building was completed in December 1979. In 1983, the Parish Hall, six classrooms, and parish offices were added next to the church, with the rectory rising on the other side of the grounds. A second fundraising campaign in 1986 doubled the size of the church and built a new school, and a multi-purpose Activity Center followed in 1996 to serve as a meeting place, gymnasium, and food court for the parish's bi-annual carnivals.
Father O'Reilly shepherded Saint David for almost forty years, until his death in 2013. The current pastor, Father Ryan Saunders, leads the parish along with a Parochial Vicar, Father Hans Paul Chamorro, Father Joseph Kottayil in residence, and Deacon Long Hai Do.
Daily Mass, a Daily Rosary, and Reconciliation on Saturdays
Saint David keeps a steady liturgical rhythm through the week. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Friday at 8:00 am, and is preceded by the rosary at 7:30 am. Saturday morning Mass is at 9:00 am, with the rosary said at 8:30 am beforehand. The Vigil Mass on Saturday evening is at 5:00 pm. Sunday Masses are celebrated at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am, and 12:00 pm, with the 10:30 am Mass livestreamed through the parish media page. Baptisms are scheduled on Sundays at 2:00 pm.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard on Saturday afternoons from 4:00 to 4:30 pm in the church, and appointments can be made by calling the Parish Office. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place on the first Friday of each month, immediately following the 8:00 am Mass, from 8:30 to 9:30 am. Couples planning a wedding are asked to contact the Parish Office at least six months in advance, with the Catholic partner expected to be an active registered member; pre-marriage instruction is part of the preparation. The priests are available at any time to bring the Anointing of the Sick and Communion to the homebound and hospitalized.
Saint David Catholic School and Religious Education
Saint David Catholic School shares the parish grounds and is part of the parish fabric. The school was recognized with the U.S. Department of Education's National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award in 1994, on the twentieth anniversary of the parish and tenth anniversary of the school. Families who worship at Saint David and use weekly envelopes - or give online - are considered active, registered parishioners, a status that matters when local Catholic high schools grant tuition discounts.
The parish's own Religious Education Program, often called CCD, serves students in first through eighth grade and offers preparation for Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation. Char-Lea Gutierrez serves as Coordinator of Religious Education, with Paula MacGraw assisting. The CCD office is located in the school building and is open on Tuesdays from 3:00 to 8:00 pm during the school year.
For adults seeking to become Catholic, or baptized Christians seeking full communion with the Catholic Church, the parish runs an OCIA program - the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults - on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Parish Hall. OCIA is a ten-month process that runs from early September through early May and culminates in the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism (if needed), the Eucharist, and Confirmation.
HOPE Outreach: Helping Other People Everyday
In 1995, three Sisters from the religious congregation of Saint Joseph of Cottolengo - Sister Anna, Sister Consolata, and Sister Mary Ellen - arrived at Saint David and joined with parish members to launch HOPE Outreach Center, an acronym for Helping Other People Everyday. HOPE has since grown into a non-denominational ministry that serves needy residents of the surrounding community with food and assistance, and it remains one of the most visible expressions of the parish's mission outside the church walls.
HOPE Outreach Center is located at 4700 SW 64th Avenue, Suite A, in Davie, and can be reached at 954-321-0909. Donations to the center can be made through its online giving page.
Legion of Mary, Mary Tower of David
The Saint David Legion of Mary praesidium is named Mary Tower of David, and was founded on September 8, 2007. The Legion of Mary itself, founded in Dublin in 1921, is the largest lay apostolate in the Catholic Church, and Saint David's group joins the worldwide network that has received the approval of six popes, including Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II, and was endorsed by the Second Vatican Council. Members follow what the Legion calls the three C's: Conversion, reaching out to the unchurched; Conservation, inviting fallen-away Catholics home; and Consolation, maintaining a caring connection with the homebound, sick, and infirm. Active members meet on Fridays at 10:00 am in Room 201 of the Parish Hall, with auxiliary members praying the daily Tessera prayers on their own.
Crossroads Young Adults and NSU Catholic Life
Two ministries at Saint David serve the parish's proximity to Nova Southeastern University. Crossroads Young Adult Ministry welcomes young adults, young professionals, and graduate students between the ages of 21 and 35. The group meets every Tuesday at 6:30 pm in O'Reilly Hall for fellowship, talks on the faith, service nights, monthly Eucharistic Adoration, and social outings organized by its Party Planning Committee.
For undergraduate students between 18 and 22, NSU Catholic Life Campus Ministry gathers on Thursdays at 8:00 pm on the NSU campus during the fall and winter semesters. Student E-Board members lead Theology Thursdays, mixing talks, socials, games, and activities aimed at sharing the love of Jesus Christ on campus. Several NSU Catholic Life students also serve as lectors and sacristans at parish Masses.
Bereavement Support and Camp Erin
Saint David runs a Bereavement Ministry that meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 5:30 pm in the Parish Hall. The ministry also partners with Camp Erin, a free weekend bereavement camp for children and teens between the ages of 6 and 17 who are grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Camp Erin combines grief education and emotional support with traditional camp activities, and connects campers with peers and trained volunteers who understand their loss. The parish also points families toward the Children's Bereavement Center, a nonprofit that offers free grief support groups for all ages.
Respect Life, Project Joseph, and Sidewalk Advocacy
The Respect Life Ministry at Saint David connects parishioners with the work of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Archdiocese of Miami's Respect Life efforts. The ministry promotes Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing program, and Project Joseph, an archdiocesan program of services and formation for men facing crisis pregnancies, run by men for men. The ministry also fields Sidewalk Advocates for Life, parishioners who offer a peaceful, prayerful, law-abiding presence outside abortion centers, providing crisis intervention and life-affirming alternatives to women headed in for appointments.
Women's Club, Bible Study, and the Prayer Group
The Saint David Women's Club meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall. A Bible Study Group gathers on Tuesdays at 10:00 am in Room 201. A Prayer Group, led by Marge Jozwiak, fields emergency prayer requests from the parish. Music ministry at Saint David includes a Music Director, Angela Fields, an organist for the 7:30 am Mass, Judi Ceci, and a soloist, Shanna Nolan, along with a roster of cantors that supports weekend liturgies.
A Patron Saint and a King
Saint David of Wales, the church's patron, was a sixth-century priest and monastic founder remembered for his wisdom, his preaching, and an austere rule that prohibited meat, which is why he is also the patron saint of vegetarians. The traditional image of him shows him standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder, a sign of the legend that the earth once rose beneath his feet as he preached so all could see and hear him. His feast day is March 1.
The parish also keeps a devotion to King David of the Old Testament, the anointed king from whose line Christians believe the Messiah would come, and to whom many of the Psalms are ascribed. The two Davids together shape the parish's identity: one a wandering preacher and monastic founder, the other a poet-king and ancestor of Christ.
Visiting Saint David
The Parish Office is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, closed for lunch from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, and on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and Sundays from 7:00 am to 1:30 pm. The church address is 3900 South University Drive, Davie, FL 33328, with the main number 954-475-8046. New parishioners are encouraged to register through the online form, with active membership requiring at least three months of registered attendance and stewardship before serving as a sacramental sponsor. Online giving and the parish's ABCD campaign donations are both available through the giving pages on the parish site. Mass and special events can be watched online through the parish media page.