MIAMI BEACH, FL—An international media star has been born under the blazing Florida sun. Six feet tall, with black hair and vivid blue eyes, the energetic, articulate Father Albert Cutie brings his message of faith to thousands of Hispanic-Americans worldwide using modern technology.

"We live in a media age. People need to be stimulated by priests who are excellent communicators and who can inspire them to think about serious issues," Father Albert maintains.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico of Cuban parents, Father Albert moved to Miami when he was seven. He showed glimmers of his future talents early on. "At 12, I started my own business as a disc jockey, playing music at special events," he says.

After attending and leading spiritual retreats with his parish youth group as a teenager, the extroverted priest was inspired to give his life to God. At 18, he entered the Saint John Vianney College Seminary in the Archdiocese of Miami and received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. He later attended Saint Vincent of Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he received Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Divinity degrees.

It was in his third year as a priest, while serving at St. Patrick Church in Miami, that destiny called. The producers of Telemundo Network invited him to try out as host of a new Hispanic talk show that would air in all U.S. states and 20 Latin American countries. More than 500 applicants were interviewed before producers, impressed with Father Albert's bilingual fluency, charisma, straight talk and spontaneous humor, chose him as host. "It was God's idea. I never saw myself as someone who wanted to be on TV," he says.

Part confessional, part entertainment, "Padre Alberto" and "Cambia tu Vida con el Padre Alberto" discussed serious issues such as domestic abuse, youth violence, and racism and with a revolving and eclectic mix of guests. When the show ended in 2001, Father Albert went on to host other television programs on the American continent as well as the Dominican Republic.

Now he's the affable host of "Talking Plainly with Father Alberto," a weekly television talk program airing on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and the Global Catholic Network. The show offers a tremendous opportunity to reach America's fastest-growing immigrant class: its 35 million Hispanics, many of whom are Catholic. "When a middle-class Anglo Saxon has a problem, they find a therapist," points out Father Alberto. "But the Hispanic culture is church-centered. When a Hispanic has a problem, they want to talk to a priest."

In 2001, the Archiodiocese of Miami appointed Father Albert the Director of the Catholic Radio Apostolate, known as "Radio Peace". Transmitted in English and Spanish in the U.S. as well as every Latin American country, at peak hours it draws more than 100,000 listeners.

"This station has a very special mission. Our message of faith and hope reaches many poor families in rural Latin America as well as immigrants, mothers and young people in the U.S," he says.

In 2002, the Archbishop appointed Father Albert Administrator of San Isidro Catholic Church in Pompano Beach. One of his most important missions continues to be his work with youth and young adults. "Young people today have so many challenges: peer pressure, drugs, premarital sex, lack of communication with their parents, body image, lack of positive role models. And the Church can help them resolve those issues through its youth ministry and education programs.

"I'll continue to use the media in any way that I can to articulate the truths of our faith: and to bring people to an understanding of who God is in their life."


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