On May 9, Bryan Garcia was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop Thomas Wenski in a ceremony held at St. Mary Cathedral. For Father Bryan, it was the culmination of years of service towards Christ and the beginning of an even deeper relationship with God and his community.
Like many Catholics, Father Bryan’s faith was nurtured at Catholic schools as he graduated from Immaculate Conception School in Hialeah in 2002 and Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens in 2006. However, Father Bryan and his family’s ties to Catholic education run even deeper. He was particularly blessed to have his parents as principals at both Immaculate and Pace.
His mother, Ana Garcia, is the principal of Pace High School, a position she has held since 2004. Ana Garcia is a product of Catholic education and a Pace alumna herself from the Class of 1980.
His father, Eddy Garcia, also graduated from Pace in 1980. He is currently the principal of St. Louis Covenant School in Pinecrest, where he started in 2013. Before he was the principal of Immaculate Conception School in Hialeah for 13 years.
The Garcias’ influence on their children’s faith is immeasurable, especially for Father Bryan.
“My parents and grandparents were always great examples of faith and trust in God even in the face of difficulties in their lives,” said Father Bryan. “When I decided to enter seminary formation towards the priesthood, they were nothing but supportive of me and my decision to answer the Lord's call to serve him and his people.”
Father Bryan says that while he gets more questions from his family now about theology and morality, he is still just “Bryan” to them. He said, “As my brother Steven often reminds me: ‘You may be ‘Father’ to everyone else. But for me, you will always be ‘brother’ first.”
His siblings have also given back to the community through their faith. His older sister Jenise Garcia-Subveri, who graduated from Immaculate in 1999 and Pace in 2003, worked as a teacher at both Immaculate and St. Agnes Academy in Key Biscayne. His younger brother Steven graduated from Immaculate in 2006 and Pace in 2010. It was at Pace that he began serving as a Eucharistic minister, which he continues to do today.
It’s only fitting that the day after his ordination was Mother’s Day, when Father Bryan celebrated his first ever mass at his home parish and school as a child, Immaculate Conception Church. The entire Garcia family was in attendance. He is now the parochial vicar at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Coral Springs.