Every Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity to recognize the value and contributions of Catholic education to the Church and the world.
During the week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, 2022, Diocesan Catholic schools celebrated their schools, their Parishes, the nation, vocations, their families and their teachers in a variety of ways.
At St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton, it was decided to bring in a former student to speak to the students, Miss Florida 2021 Leah Roddenberry.
The youngest of five children to receive a Catholic school education from kindergarten through high school (St. Joseph and Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota), Roddenberry credits that experience with her ability to overcome many obstacles in her life while achieving success.
During a visit to her former school, Roddenberry met with two groups of students while getting a tour of the school grounds. She reflected not only that everything looked very familiar, but also that the visit brought back many wonderful memories.
Upon arrival at the school, Roddenberry was greeted by some of the staff, including Principal Deborah Suddarth who presented Miss Florida 2021 with images found in old yearbooks. Roddenberry was delighted to receive them and said she would cherish the gift forever.
Then it was on to meet the third-grade class of Juli Ferguson. There Roddenberry shared her story explaining how she loved going to St. Joseph and later Cardinal Mooney as both schools helped shape her into the confident young woman she is today. She noted that she started participating in pageants through the years and eventually became Miss Florida 2021 last June.
“What I really love about being able to visit Catholic schools, in particular, is talking about the faith, and how that’s really remained a constant value throughout my life,” she said. “I know that I wouldn’t be here as Miss Florida, and I wouldn’t be doing the job that I’m doing, without my faith and having that instilled in me at a young age. So, I know that sometimes being in school here you can question why you have to go to church – it’s different as some kids don’t have that in school – but it is something that you are going to appreciate down the road and I hope you can see the value in it today.”
Roddenberry later had lunch with members of the St. Joseph Catholic School National Junior Honor Society, along with Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Education. The 22-year-old was Miss Tampa 2020, and an author of a children’s book and founder of “Be a LeadHER: Igniting the Spark Within.” She graduated from Cardinal Mooney in 2017. She represented Florida in the Miss America pageant in December 2021 where she finished in the top 10, her final pageant experience. The Miss Florida pageant is a scholarship program which Roddenberry said will help her finish her education nearly debt-free. She hopes to enter law school after her commitments as Miss Florida 2021 conclude.
During the weekend leading up to Catholic Schools Week, many Parishes throughout the Diocese hosted guest student speakers who were able to share how their school fosters a growth in faith, values, virtues, self-confidence, and much more.
St. Martha Catholic School and St. Mary Academy in Sarasota kicked off their celebration of Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31 in celebration of our nation with a morning prayer service. They had guest speaker, John Carkeet, Marketing Coordinator with the Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools and Public Affairs Noncommissioned Officer with the 75th Innovation Command, U.S. Army Reserve. In uniform, Carkeet shared his vision on faith and service. The prayer service also included the installation of a new Peace Pole on the playground which was filled with messages of peace from each class. New Buddy Benches will be placed near the Peace Pole in the coming days.
St. Ann Catholic School in Naples had a Community Service Day on Jan. 31, where students collected trash outside City Hall and spent some time with Mayor Teresa Heitmann, helped to clean Cambier Park, Naples beaches, as well as the School and Parish properties.
At nearby St. John Neumann Catholic High School, a group of students, and religious sisters, helped to load vehicles with food at the St. Elizabeth Seton Parish distribution on Feb. 1.
Things have been busy at St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral where students opened the week participating in a Math Olympics. Students participated in the “bobsled” and dividing and comparing decimals to determine fastest times. Just so everyone understands that Catholic Schools Week isn’t all serious – the second day was crazy hat day.
Meanwhile, at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton, after their exciting guest visitor on Monday, the next day a group of students delivered potted plants to the homes of families that border the school. Some students made the delivery while others created colorful, “Thank You!!!” signs.
Check out more about Catholic Schools Week in the Diocese of Venice by visiting www.facebook.com/DOVCatholicSchool and return to read the Feb. 11 e-edition of The Florida Catholic.
For Bishop Dewane, the installation as Pastor will solidify in the minds of the faithful that Father Antonik is there to serve the Parishioners; Father Antonik has served as Administrator of the Parish since February 2020. Outwardly, there will be no changes in the operation of the Parish but nevertheless the Bishop noted this was an important moment for all of the faithful at St. Therese.
During the installation, the priest begins with selected words leading to the start of the Creed at which point he is joined by the faithful. At the end of the Creed, the new Pastor has extra lines which are exclusive for him. In addition, the Pastor takes an Oath of Fidelity to the Bishop and his successors, formalized by placing his hand upon the Book of Gospels.
The opening procession was led by a bagpiper, the Knights of Columbus Color Corps, then retired and active honorees and finally members of the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club.
What first responders do daily is to stand in harm’s way in defense of human dignity, Msgr. Criscuolo concluded. “Do not despair. You are witnesses to the great hope that there is a better way. That’s who you are. You are that defense for each one of us, and are witnesses to hope, love and charity.”
The Diocesan Hispanic Ministries Formation Program has returned with classes starting in January 2022 at several Parishes. The topic of study for these sessions is “The Christian Virtues” and a total of seven classes will be held weekly through Lent. Those who register and attend 80% of the classes will receive a Diocesan Certification.
A Memorial Mass was celebrated Jan. 27, 2022, for Father Dennis Cooney, longtime Pastor of St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres, who died April 13, 2020. The death occurred during the early phase of the global pandemic and while a Funeral Mass was celebrated it was limited by the Parish to just 10 people at the time. Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated the Memorial Mass and spoke of Father Cooney’s spirited work in support of life from conception to natural death. Father Casey Jones, Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Naples, delivered the homily.
Families from all walks of life have recognized the benefits of a Catholic education, particularly those institutions in Southwest Florida. From August 2020 to January of this year, Catholic School enrollment across the Diocese of Venice increased by more than 700 students, over 14 percent. The surge of new residents across Florida certainly helped this remarkable growth. However, why have hundreds of families decided to enroll their children in Catholic schools rather than one of the public or private school counterparts?
CSW – Catholic Schools Week – provides a second key to the Diocese’s successes in enrollment and beyond. This year marks the 48th year nationally celebrating Catholic education. From January 30 through February 5, schools will celebrate their Parishes, our nation, vocations, our families and our teachers. Schools organize activities and public events to provide an opportunity to see the positive benefits of a Catholic education. Interested in attending one of these events? Visit 
These walks took place with a note of hope and optimism as there is a possibility that the Supreme Court might strike down Roe v. Wade. That optimism comes from a pivotal Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that many in the Pro-Life movement see as the best chance to change the law that has led to more than 62 million abortions across the United States. A decision in the case isn’t expected until the end of the court’s term in June.
Bishop Dewane was encouraged by the number of people participating in the Ave Maria event and humbled by the large number of young families and couples as well as youth who will be carrying the Pro-Life message into the future.
The Bishop concluded his remarks by reminding everyone that abortion is a moral problem that occasionally must be dealt with in a political arena to make change happen. “We must be strong and practical in our approach; speaking out courageously and forcefully, as we remain united in our prayer and opposition to this scourge on our society.”
About the same time as the Ave Maria event was happening, a similar vigil was taking place along U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs. There, some 125 people braved similar dreary conditions in a Walk for Life organized by the Pro-Life Outreach of nearby St. Leo the Great Parish.
Among the larger groups in Washington were representatives from Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, St. Michael Parish in Wauchula, Ave Maria University and the Ave Maria School of Law. Several smaller groups from a variety of Parishes also took part including St. William Parish in Naples, Epiphany Cathedral in Venice and Incarnation Parish in Sarasota.
Tomeo first spoke to Verot Director of Religious Activities Mark Latell, who brought a group of 28 juniors and seniors to support life. Latell said a group from Fort Myers annually attends the March and missed not being able to be in Washington in 2021 because of the pandemic. Latell explained that each day on their journey starts and ends with student-led prayer. Upon their return to Fort Myers, the students will put together a video of their experiences and share it with the school community and surrounding Parishes who support the school and the annual trip.
Father Lukka will leave his post as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice in early February, having previously served as Parochial Vicar at St. William Parish in Naples and Spiritual Advisor to the English Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
The St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School community in Naples celebrated its 100th day of classes on Jan. 21, 2022, with a special “dress like you are 100 years old” dress-down day for a donation of 100 cents! All proceeds from the day will be donated to the nearby Golden Gate Senior Center run by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.
Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School hosted more than 130 eighth grade students from its partner schools, St. Mary Catholic Academy, St. Martha Catholic School and Incarnation Catholic School, each in Sarasota, and St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton. This Jan. 19, 2022, retreat was more than just a tour of the high school; it was also a chance to learn about what attending Cardinal Mooney would be like. Mooney students led the eighth graders in a variety of activities including prayer, games and team building exercises. Throughout the day, the boys and girls were separated into smaller groups and given the opportunity to ask their hosts questions about the school.
The Diocese of Venice held a collaboration session and workshop for Catholic schools Marketing & Development Committee personnel on Jan. 24, 2022, at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The meeting began with a greeting and prayer from Father John Belmonte, SJ, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese. John Carkeet from the Diocese’s Education Department led the sessions, which included several guest speakers. Guest speakers presented information about marketing, branding and social media, and included Mindy Purvis, Catholic Faith Technologies; Monique Day, Target Digital Marketing; Angie Prokes, Digital Diagnosis Marketing; and Kevin Murphy and Jud Cavey from Ave Maria University. Carlee Colonneso, Development Consultant at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton and Carkeet led development and marketing workshop sessions. The collaboration session and workshop were Part II of a four-part series focused on establishing marketing plans at Diocesan schools.
Middle school students in American History at St. Catherine Catholic School in Sebring completed a STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, Math) project on Jan. 20, 2022, which focused on the Revolutionary War and the Culper Spy Ring. Not only did the students learn history, but also the chemistry behind invisible ink, which the Culper Ring used during the Revolutionary War.
There are few better ways to teach a lesson to a third-grade student than through the use of food as a prop in the classroom. That is exactly what happened on Jan. 19, 2022, at St. Ann Catholic School in Naples where the students used Oreo cookies to learn about the phases of the moon. This edible prop was easily handled by the students to match the different phases of the moon by splitting apart the two sides of the cookie and removing some of the filing. This exercise also has the benefit of having a handy snack after the lesson was completed.
