Tree of Life

In 1989, artist Sanford Werfel designed and created the hand carved teak and acrylic sculpture for Tampa Catholic under the direction of Joe Molloy ’79 who made a sizable donation to commission the piece. The tree was created with over 300 leaves and 12 contributor stones and was designed to grow as the legacy of Tampa Catholic grows.

In the summer of 2019, 200 additional leaves were added to the sculpture.

The tree was originally installed in the first TC chapel, but was moved when improvements and new buildings were added to the campus. It was moved to the Blessed Edmund Rice Chapel in 2010.

The Tree of Life sculpture is a permanent and meaningful way Tampa Catholic memorializes each of its deceased alumni, faculty, and staff. Upon their passing, a blank leaf is removed from the tree, engraved with their name and returned to the tree to honor the memory of a lost TC graduate. Only deceased graduates, or students of TC at the time of their death, and faculty/staff (five years of service or more) are added to the Tree of Life.

Many student records do not show parent or sibling relationships. If you are a family member of a deceased grad and would like to help us update our records, as well as, learn about attending the next Alumni Memorial Mass. Please contact the Advancement Office at (813) 870-0860.