St. Augustine holds the two oldest Catholic sites in the US — Mission Nombre de Dios, where the first Mass on American soil was said in 1565, and the Cathedral Basilica, founded the same year and rebuilt in 1797. The Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales rings its 60-bell carillon daily at 1 and 3 p.m. from a 205-foot Art Deco tower dedicated by President Coolidge in 1929. In Miami, La Ermita de la Caridad faces Cuba 280 miles away. Tarpon Springs' Greek Orthodox Cathedral draws tens of thousands to its January 6 Epiphany cross dive.
Jump to: St. Augustine's Sacred History · Churches & Shrines Across Florida · Sacred Gardens & Contemporary Shrines · Planning Notes
St. Augustine's Sacred History
Two of the oldest Catholic sites in the US sit within a half-mile of each other in St. Augustine. Both are free to visit and can be seen in an afternoon.
Mission Nombre de Dios (First Catholic Mission in the US) Must-see
St. Johns County · St. Augustine
Mission Nombre de Dios (Name of God) marks the site where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated on American soil — September 8, 1565 — when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés arrived with the colonizing party that would found St. Augustine. The mission grounds hold the 208-foot stainless steel Great Cross erected in 1966, a small shrine chapel, and the archaeological footprint of the original mission structure. A reconstructed Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche (1620) stands on the same grounds — the oldest Marian shrine in the country. Free to visit; grounds open daily dawn to dusk. The site is on San Marco Avenue, a quarter mile north of the Castillo de San Marcos.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine Must-see
St. Johns County · St. Augustine
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the oldest Catholic parish in the United States — founded in 1565 on the same site, with the current structure dating to 1797 and expanded in 1887. The interior features a hand-carved wooden altar, stained glass windows manufactured in Munich, and a bell tower visible from the Plaza de la Constitución a block away. Free to enter during non-service hours; Sunday Mass at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., and noon. The cathedral faces Cathedral Place, one block west of St. George Street in the heart of the Historic District — walkable from the Castillo in 5 minutes.
Churches & Shrines Across Florida
Florida's religious architecture extends well beyond St. Augustine — Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, and Tarpon Springs each hold significant sacred sites tied to the communities that built them.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Epiphany Celebration) Must-see
Pinellas County · Tarpon Springs
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs serves the largest Greek Orthodox community per capita in the United States — established when Greek sponge divers arrived from the Dodecanese in 1905. The cathedral was built in 1943 in Byzantine Revival style with a marble interior and icons painted in Athens. The Epiphany celebration on January 6 draws 30,000–50,000 visitors: the bishop blesses a gold cross and young men dive into Spring Bayou to retrieve it, with the retriever receiving a year's blessing. The cathedral is open for visitors most days during daylight hours; services are conducted in Greek.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Tampa) Must-see
Hillsborough County · Tampa
Sacred Heart in downtown Tampa was completed in 1905 as the congregation's fourth building on the same site — a Romanesque Revival structure with twin towers rising 165 feet and a 68-foot-diameter dome over the sanctuary. The interior holds 56 stained glass windows manufactured in Munich and a marble altar that arrived from Italy by ship at the Port of Tampa. The church is one block from Tampa City Hall on Florida Avenue, within walking distance of the Henry B. Plant Museum. Free to visit; guided tours by appointment through the parish office.
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Jacksonville) Must-see
Duval County · Jacksonville
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Jacksonville has stood on the same site since 1854 — rebuilt in 1910 in Spanish Renaissance style after fire damage. Pope John Paul II elevated it to basilica status in 1991, recognizing its historic significance as the oldest Catholic church in Florida's most populous city. The interior features 14 stained glass windows and a marble high altar imported from Italy. Free to enter weekdays 7 a.m.–5 p.m. and during weekend Masses. The basilica is on Ocean Street at Cathedral Place, 3 blocks from the St. Johns River waterfront.
La Ermita de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity Shrine) Must-see
Miami-Dade County · Miami
La Ermita de la Caridad stands on the Biscayne Bay waterfront in Coconut Grove — a cone-shaped concrete structure built in 1966, oriented so the altar faces Cuba 280 miles across the Florida Strait. The shrine is dedicated to Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, and serves as the spiritual and cultural home of Miami's Cuban exile community. A mural at the base wraps the interior wall depicting 400 years of Cuban history from the island's indigenous inhabitants through the 1959 revolution. Open daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Mass in Spanish at 9 a.m. Monday–Saturday and 10 a.m. and noon Sunday. Free admission.
Sacred Gardens & Contemporary Shrines
Bok Tower Gardens & Singing Tower Carillon Must-see
Polk County · Lake Wales
Bok Tower Gardens was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge in 1929 — 250 acres of native plant landscape centered on a 205-foot Art Deco and Gothic Revival carillon tower containing 60 bronze bells. The bells range from 17 pounds to 12 tons; the Great Boom bell was the largest tuned carillon bell in the world when cast. 30-minute carillon concerts run daily at 1 and 3 p.m.; on the fourth Saturday of each month, the resident carillonneur performs a recital from the bell tower interior (with the performer visible through a glass window at the base). Admission is $15/adults; grounds open 8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily. Lake Wales is 55 miles southwest of Orlando on US-27.
Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine Worth the detour
Orange County · Orlando
Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine near SeaWorld serves over 3 million visitors per year — built in 1984 to provide a Catholic worship center for tourists concentrated along International Drive. The sanctuary seats 2,000 and holds daily Mass at 8:30 a.m., with additional Masses at noon and 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The grounds include a 45-piece outdoor rose garden, a gift shop with devotional items, and a museum of religious art. The shrine is at 8300 Vineland Avenue off I-4, 4 miles from Walt Disney World. Free admission.
Planning Notes
Plan your visit: St. Augustine holds two significant sites within walking distance of each other — the Mission and the Cathedral are both on or near San Marco Avenue; see the St. Augustine guide for full trip planning. For Tampa's Sacred Heart, see the Tampa guide. The St. Petersburg guide covers the greater Pinellas County area including Tarpon Springs, where St. Nicholas Cathedral is located. For Jacksonville's Basilica, see the Jacksonville guide. Miami's La Ermita is in Coconut Grove — covered in our Miami guide. The Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine and the Bok Tower are covered in the Orlando guide and Lake Wales respectively; Bok Tower is a standalone day trip 55 miles southwest of Orlando.
