Passing of Congregante Rafael Portuondo
We were recently advised that Congregante Rafael Portuondo passed away. May he rest in peace, embraced by the eternal light of our Loving Father. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Rafael became a Congregante in Havana, Cuba on 12/12/1948. Rafael served as President of the Miami Chapter in its early years. His son Ignacio became a Congregante on July 4, 1981, In Atlanta, during the 50th anniversary of the ACU. His grandson John became a Congregante on December 4, 2021, with the inaugural class of the University of Miami student group.
Rafael was a man of God , in love with Christ, devoted to the Blessed Virgin, in love with his faith. This guided all he did and was- husband, father, friend. God and family were his guiding lights. He grew in his faith with Pr Llorente and his brothers in Christ at the Agrupacion Catolica Universitaria from a young college student in 1948 until his death in 2025. The Ejercicios de San Ignacio were his source of strength and discernment always. He had the honor of serving as President of the ACU and has a son and grandson who are Agrupados. He lived his entire life by San Ignacio’s prayer of surrender… Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all this to me. To you, Lord, I return it. All is yours, dispose of it wholly according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.
Below are the funeral arrangements for Rafael
Monday July 21, 2025
Epiphany Catholic Church
8235 SW 57th Avenue, Miami, FL 33143
11:00 am: Receiving family and friends
11:45 am: Mass
1:30 pm: Burial @ Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
“Well done, good and faithful servant.” - Matthew 25:23
We welcome all who knew and loved him to join us in this time of remembrance and worship, as we give thanks for his life and trust in the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
