{"id":129621,"date":"2026-01-23T21:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129621\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T21:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:15:17","slug":"last-ride-miami-archbishop-rides-for-st-lukes-amid-talk-of-final-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129621\/","title":{"rendered":"Last ride? Miami archbishop rides for St. Luke\u2019s amid talk of final year"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 As Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski<\/a> prepares for his annual motorcycle ride this weekend, organizers hope the event will draw attention and funding to a faith-based rehabilitation program that serves people struggling with addiction and homelessness.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s Center, an Archdiocese of Miami program, provides residential treatment and stability for men working to rebuild their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, I am homeless and it\u2019s very hard for me to find a place to stay. So, this center is providing that stability that I need right now in my life,\u201d said Manuel Bombino, a resident at St. Luke\u2019s Center.<\/p>\n

Bombino said the program has helped him chart a new path forward after a recent relapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hopefully going to stay here six months, get a job, save up some money and branch out on my own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sandra Valdes, the center\u2019s behavioral health senior director, said the impact of the program reaches far beyond treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changes lives. It saves lives,\u201d Valdes said. It helps people reconnect to their families (and) helps people find their best selves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each year, Wenski combines his longtime love of motorcycles with his support for the program by hosting the Archbishop\u2019s Motorcycle Ride<\/a>, an event that raises awareness and funds for St. Luke\u2019s Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great program there and it\u2019s a very much needed program in our community, because we know the problems people have with addiction and substance abuse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wenski said he began riding motorcycles later in life and sees it as both a personal outlet and a way to connect with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve ridden motorcycles since I was 50 years old. It is a great pastime, he said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m on my motorcycle, it\u2019s a way of clearing the cobwebs from your mind.\u201d <\/p>\n

The ride has also become a place where participants share stories of recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, one of the rides will come and say that place saved my life,\u201d Wenski added. <\/p>\n

The event comes months after he followed canon law protocol and submitted a letter of resignation<\/a> to Pope Francis before turning 75 last October. However, he said he is not stepping aside just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people think it might be my last ride as archbishop, but I think the pope is leaving me in place for a while,\u201d Wenski said.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> or email Events@theadom.org<\/a> if you would like to join Sunday\u2019s ride. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 As Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski prepares for his annual motorcycle ride this weekend, organizers hope the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":{"0":"post-129621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}