The Gesu Church is significant for its important role in the religious history of Miami and as a reflection of the City's growth and development.

Gesu is Miami's oldest Catholic parish and has served the religious and humanitarian needs of the community for over a century.

Miami's first Catholic Mass was conducted in 1872 when Father Dufau, who had been sent to South Florida by Bishop John Marcellus Peter Augustine Verot, P.S.S.

Wagner constructed a small wooden church on his homestead in 1875, and this became Miami's first house of worship.

As Miami's population and the Holy Name congregation expanded, the need for a larger church became evident.

A cornerstone was subsequently laid on December 10, 1920, on the site of the earlier church, and the new building was dedicated in 1925.

Prior to becoming pastor at Gesu Church, he taught at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and was its chaplain (1975–2004).