Monsignor Laurence Higgins, 87

• Middle Name: Ed
• Added: 12-09-2025
• Died: Aug 24th, 2016

• Hometown: Tampa, Fl
• Occupation: Monsignor

About Monsignor Laurence : Monsignor Laurence E. Higgins was the founder and pastor emeritus of St. Lawrence Catholic Parish of Tampa, Florida in the Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Higgins served as pastor from 1958 to 2007, the longest tenure of any priest in the diocese (49 years) Higgins guided St. Peter Claver from 1971-73. During this period President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the U.S. Commission for Civil Rights for southern states. He also helped start three more Catholic Churches in Tampa: Epiphany, Incarnation and St. Paul. In 1983 Pope John Paul II gave him the title of “Monsignor Prelate of Honor” and subsequently in 1988 “Protonotary Apostolic,” the highest rank of Monsignor. Higgins has served as chaplain for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rowdies. His contributions to the community include serving on the board directors of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Foundation, Judeo Christian Health Clinic, “Higgins Alcohol and Addiction Program” at USF’s Institute for Research in Psychiatry, Florida Treatment Center, Project Return, Gold Shield Foundation, MOSI, Crisis Center of Hillsborough County, Boys and Girls Clubs, Tampa and West Tampa Chambers of Commerce, Ybor City Development Corporation, the Outback Bowl, and many others. He founded the Raphael Foundation in 1997 which supports programs for the disadvantaged such as MacDonald Training Center, Meals on Wheels, Judeo Christian Health Clinic, Abe Brown Prison Ministries, and Trinity Cafe. He also established “Housing by St. Laurence,” which is dedicated to helping first-time home buyers and low-income families, and San Lorenzo Terrace I and II, a HUD project of retirement apartments for low-income seniors. Monsignor Higgins had been working on a plan for years to secure statues of saints he considered among the most important heroes of the Catholic faith. Two years after his death, Monsignor’s vision for a “walk among the saints” came to completion. Monsignor Higgins said, “…one day, after saying Mass, the Holy Spirit inspired me to refer to a book I hadn’t read in years, St. Augustine’s City of God.” St. Augustine wrote that life is a “tale of two cities,” the Earthly City and the City of God. The earthly is consumed by a love of self and suppression of God and the heavenly by the love of God and suppression of self. “In reflecting on St. Augustine’s thoughts, I could see our parishioners coming into the lot, parking their cars, getting out, leaving their worldly thoughts behind, and entering into the City of God,” said Higgins. more... less...

Obituary or Eulogy: Link Link more... less...