Fr. Elkin Sierra, who left his Miami-Dade Fire Rescue career to become a Catholic priest, has died at 58
Some people spend a lifetime working in one profession while dreaming of the job they really would like to do. This seems to have been what Elkin Dario Sierra did before he realized his vocation of becoming a Catholic priest.
Father Sierra died Tuesday morning, April 11, after a months-long battle with stomach cancer. He was 58.
Father Sierra was a retired lieutenant and chaplain with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, which he had served for 21 years. Four years before he was eligible for full retirement with a generous pension, he answered the call of the Lord to serve in the priesthood.
In 2010, when many of his co-workers watched as their children graduated high school and college, Sierra was beginning his studies at Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, returning full time when he retired from MDFR and earning his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2015. Later, he completed his formation at Saint Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach and was ordained to the priesthood on May 11, 2019.
He served in the Archdiocese in Miami, and his first assignment was at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Doral, where he served until June 2022, when he was assigned to serve at Saint Louis in Pinecrest.
Father Sierra was born on Aug. 2, 1964, in Miami, to José and Stella Sierra. He was the oldest of three, followed by a brother, Luis, also a firefighter/paramedic, and a sister, Ana, all of whom live in South Florida.
After graduating from Miami Southwest Senior High in 1982, he earned an associate degree in science in emergency medical services in 1994 from Miami-Dade College.
His responsibilities in the fire service had included serving as the department’s public information officer — the one who briefs the news media and public at accident or disaster scenes.
The viewing is set for Friday, April 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe, followed by the funeral Mass at noon. The Mass will be livestreamed on the parish website and the archdiocesan website.
Bea Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com
