Bishop John Noonan | Diocese of Orland website

EUSTIS — St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, perched atop a hill in Eustis, houses a museum dedicated to preserving its rich history. Dedicated in 1912, it is possibly the only church in the Diocese of Orlando with a designated museum.

The museum idea emerged from the parish’s centennial celebration in 2012, initiated by former business manager Easter Byrne and parishioner Joyce Welch. Both women passed away earlier this year but left behind a thriving legacy.

Mary Lee Specht recalled organizing the centennial Heritage Festival with Welch, collecting cultural items representing diverse ethnicities and liturgical items from the church's 100-year history. "Joyce was committed to maintaining the past for educational purposes," Specht said. "She loved the idea of the museum and bringing everyone together."

Father Gilbert Medina, parochial administrator at that time and a history enthusiast, supported the initiative by choosing a room behind the sacristy for storage. Maintenance manager Steve Baumgartner helped build shelves and cabinets for these items. Father Medina contributed a fiddleback chasuble to the collection and addressed his parishioners in a letter quoting Prov 22:28: “Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers set up.”

“(Ancient landmarks) show us and future generations where we came from,” he wrote. “If we know our history, it forms and frames who we are as a person... We can’t go back in time, but we can take history... into the future to preserve our identity.”

The staff later acquired a small house across the street for an official museum and gift shop. Father Joseph Bellerive recalled needing a religious articles store nearby; thus, making this house perfect for an accessible museum as acquisitions grew.

Welch often consulted Specht on organizing items during preparations. "I thought the museum was a very large undertaking," Specht noted.

After nearly a year of preparation, various liturgical items were installed in the museum. Among its treasures are an antique monstrance and three Sick Call Sets from the 1900s used for anointing.

This year, current pastor Father Carlos Bedoya added three vestments belonging to Msgr. Manuel Fernandez, who offered Spanish Masses for Hispanic community members—a contribution dear to Specht due to her long association with him.

“Going to the museum is like stepping back into time,” Father Bedoya said. He mentioned photos depicting all three churches that have served St. Mary’s community since its founding by twelve families in 1912.

By 1936, seating expanded to accommodate more parishioners; by 1979, they replaced it with today’s larger church serving Lake and Orange counties through missions-turned-parishes such as St Patrick in Mount Dora, Blessed Sacrament in Clermont, and St Francis of Assisi in Apopka.