On our most recent trip to Florida, we decided to make a trip to the town of Ave Maria. Luckily, my in-laws knew the way because my maps are so old it wasn’t on there! Founded in 1999 by Domino’s owner, Tom Monaghan, Ave Maria is a planned (but not officially Catholic community) complete with a large (Catholic) church and a university.
We drove from Ft. Myers and it was about an hour away. Out in the middle of nowhere, we drove down a long entry road from the newly expanded 4-lane highway to get there. It’s very nicely planned but there isn’t enough there to make it a livable community. Yet.
There is a building obviously meant to be a gas station and another to be a shopping center. Neither have parking lots but the buildings are there. You can see the townhouses several blocks away on the right, the only affordable living spaces, full of cars. At the center of town is the church, which was uglier than I expected. I wrongly assumed that a planned quasi-Catholic community would have a traditional looking church. I was more impressed inside.
They had traditional confessionals all the way down both walls–at least 3 or 4 per side! It was a lovely Latin Mass that we attended on the Epiphany. I love chant and was surprised that not many participated. I felt like I knew a lot, comparatively.
Being a (not) Catholic community, most stores in the circle around the church were closed and my father-in-law forbid any shopping ;). There were several small businesses and we talked to a couple who owned the cat & dog my children were drawn to. Even the main square of town is half empty of businesses. It was full of people visiting and enjoying they day, though. I’d love to see Ave Maria when his vision comes to fruition. I think it would be a beautiful, vibrant community.
Overall, I’m really glad we made the trip out to Ave Maria. It was a lovely Mass and a nice change as we’ve been to most churches in and around Ft. Myers. If you are in the area and have spare time, go check it out!
If you have or have visited a Catholic location that welcomes visitors and would like to write a guest post, please contact me at jen at happylittlehomemaker dot com. I would love to work with you!
This post is linked to Sunday Snippets — A Catholic Carnival.
Barb Schoeneberger
5 February 2012 at 7:45 PM (12 years ago)Thanks for the description. I’m looking forward to reading more from you and am glad you joined Sunday Snippets.
Barb Schoeneberger´s last blog post ..Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival
[Reply]