Staff Report
Estero –
Whether he’s recruiting players, sharing with their parents or giving a speech to a group like Faith & Ale, Florida Gulf Coast University men’s basketball coach Pat Chambers talks about his five pillars:
- Faith
- Accountability
- Passion
- Humility
- Gratitude
With each pillar, Chambers shares a story, sometimes personal, sometimes societal. All are emotional.
“When you share stories, people start to think of examples in their own personal lives,” Chambers said. “Then, there’s meaning behind each pillar and it becomes real.”
On the court, Chambers has guided FGCU to a great start in his first season. The Eagles are one of the biggest surprises in college basketball.
Their first win came in Los Angeles against USC, coached by former FGCU coach Andy Enfield, who led the Eagles to the Sweet 16 in 2013.
FGCU won three games on consecutive days in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers just before Thanksgiving and it has won three road games before ASUN Conference play.
Off the court, Chambers is a devout Catholic. The youngest of 12, he watched his father John – and then brothers – attend Mass every day in the Philadelphia area.
Church went from a place that made young Pat “feel good” to a sanctuary of “quiet time to pray and meditate and set up your day or week or month.” Later, he and his brothers became part of a prayer group where they share inspirational thoughts and stories as well as bible passages.
He and wife Courtney have become part of the Naples community. Their children Grace, Ryan, Caitlin and Patrick attend St. Ann Catholic School.
Chambers has spoken at a number of Southwest Florida events, including Faith & Ale, a Catholic apostolate that offers men an encounter with the Catholic faith and Christ through fellowship and quality Catholic speakers with monthly meetings at various Parishes in Lee County (www.faithandale.com).
FGCU director of athletics Ken Kavanagh said he didn’t hire Chambers because of his faith but it certainly didn’t hurt him.
“As with all our hires, I looked at Pat’s overall character as a person,” Kavanagh said. “His strong faith plays into who he is. He’s a major role model with young people and he’s a tremendous ambassador for the university and the community.
“His optimism and positive perspective overall exude a confidence more than just Xs and Os.”
Overcoming dark times
Kavanagh said Chambers lives his pillars on a daily basis.
Ironically, the coach began to form them after he nearly died.
In 2002, according to ESPN, the single Chambers met a woman he knew and two friends of hers, a married couple.
The man, possibly drunk, high or both, according to Chambers, stabbed him twice in the neck with a broken wine glass. The wound was a half a centimeter from his aorta.
As he recovered, Chambers quit his successful job in sales and administration for his family’s printing business and turned his hobby – coaching high school basketball at Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia – into a full-time gig. He later became an assistant to Jay Wright at Villanova, then moved on to be a head coach, first at Boston University and then Penn State.
The pillars evolved while speaking with his brother Tim.
“We talked about it a lot,” Tim said. “Recalibrate what’s important. Take inventory. Access where he was. What are the important things in his life? He turned from the upside of material good to making an impact.”
Chambers said the incident brought him closer to his faith. He prayed the rosary more, went to Mass more, told his story more.
“Maybe I can be a light for somebody who has gone through a traumatic event,” he said.
At Penn State, more adversity struck Chambers when he and the school parted ways after an internal investigation determined that he had made an insensitive comment to a black student-athlete. It led to him and the school parting ways.
Again, Chambers faced the situation head on as he took sensitivity training. He also spoke to black players, including some of his former players, family, mentors, administrators. Their message: Get back into coaching.
“He really needed to process where his love for the game was,” Tim said. “That’s where nothing is more important than faith. You have to believe God has a better plan and I trust that he’s gonna put me in a better place. Some of our blessings are disguised. It’s not that you’re getting over it but getting through it.”
Chambers realized he couldn’t hide.
“Isolation is the worst thing,” he said. “Educate yourself, keep moving, self-heal, grow and learn.”
“I come from a large family, and they said, ‘You can’t let this detour you from what you’re becoming. And a lot of former Penn State players reached out and said, ‘You helped us. The next generation needs you to help them.’
We all play the victim role and say “Why me?”, Chambers notes. He allowed it to happen for a few hours and then realized, “I gotta get busy.
“Penn State brought me to my knees; but to live and breathe, we go through wins and losses and we go through challenges mentally, physically.”
Shortly after he bought a home in Naples in 2014, Chambers drove around the Florida Gulf Coast University campus and said to himself, ‘Wow, what would it be like to coach here?’
And now, here he is.
NOTE: The Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles play their games at Alico Arena in Estero and as of Jan. 17, the team had a record of 13-6. To learn more, visit https://fgcuathletics.com/.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Jordyn as Florida’s best high school volleyball player.
Fourth grade students at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers are learning about the seven Sacraments, and the role water plays in the sacraments. The students renewed their baptismal promises Jan. 11, 2023, while working on a craft project related to the Sacraments.
The Jr. Thespians Troupe from St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton received four Superior Awards and four Excellent Awards at the Jan. 12-14, 2023, Florida State Junior Thespian Festival – Thespian Jam, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Some 6,000 participated in the festival which gives theater lovers the chance to celebrate the best middle school theatrical work and have an unforgettable experience. The students put in many hours of practice and hard work, which definitely paid off.
St. John Neumann Catholic High School basketball player Sophia McCartney reached the 1,000-point milestone during a game on Jan. 14, 2023. After the home game in Sarasota, the star player was honored and recognized for this remarkable achievement, something that is rare in high school basketball.
Middle school students at St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral were able to hone their robotic coding skills on Jan. 17, 2023. They worked on coding and working with Lego Spike Prime Robots. These small robots are made out of Lego pieces and can follow paths on an established course. The robots can be coded to perform various tasks as well. These skills are being learned as part of a larger Diocesan-wide robotics STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, math) curriculum which helps students learn the skills needed to excel in a high-tech modern society.
“What a wonderful day,” Principal Nicole Loseto proclaimed. “When the hurricane struck everyone rallied together to salvage what we could to relocate classrooms all over the campus in just two days. It was a challenge to move everyone to a new location and it was seamless and beautiful… Now everyone came together to get us back into our main building. Thank you, everyone!”
Only the pre-kindergarten students were not displaced by Hurricane Ian. The disruptions were extreme as kindergartners were housed in the library; first and second grades were placed in the cafeteria with a divider; fourth and fifth graders were in the Parish Hall; and middle schoolers were split between the Soy Hall and two gymnasium locker rooms.
She also gave a shout out to the many people who helped support the recovery effort through financial support which helped ease the burden on the school.
Ahead of the reopening, a team of faculty staff and parents moved all of the desks and other educational items from their temporary rooms to the main building. The upper grades were allowed in the building on Jan. 6, the 100th day since Hurricane Ian struck Venice.
The response of Bishop Frank J. Dewane and the Diocese of Venice is to host a special Eucharistic Congress from March 24 to March 25, 2023, at the Conference Center and Luminary Hotel on the riverfront of downtown Fort Myers. (More details and registration can be found at 
“This is an opportunity for Catholics to bring those things which usually happen behind closed doors, in our Parishes, out into the wide open with the larger community,” explained James Gontis, Diocesan Director of Evangelization.
Everyone is invited to be a part of this exciting journey as the timing of this movement and the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress come at a critical moment for the Universal Church. The National Eucharistic Revival explains, this effort comes now, because the Church needs healing, and the world needs the Church.
“Scandal, division, disease, doubt. The Church has withstood each of these throughout our very human history. But today we confront all of them, all at once. Our response in this moment is pivotal,” National Eucharistic Revival documents state. “In the midst of these roaring waves, Jesus is present, reminding us that He is more powerful than the storm. He desires to heal, renew, and unify the Church and the world.”
This new garden, located on Parish property across the street from the main church building, was blessed and dedicated on Jan. 8, 2023, by Father Paul Dechant, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, Pastor of St. Cecilia.
The garden starts with the base of the cross (20 stones) pointing directly toward the church. Each bead is marked with a stone, with the decades having larger stones and the medal a cluster of four stones. The garden was placed primarily in the shade of pine trees to allow the faithful to enjoy peace and quiet while praying the rosary.
Epiphany Cathedral in Venice celebrated its Feast Day, the Epiphany of the Lord, with a trilingual (English, Spanish, Polish) Mass on Jan. 8, 2023. Msgr. Patrick Dubois, Cathedral Rector, said the Feast Day is an important moment for the Parish community as well as for the Universal Church. The day marks the moment when the three magi come to pay homage to the Child Jesus, something we must do each day as we celebrated the love of the Lord in our lives. Readings and music alternated between the three languages and at the conclusion of Mass, Msgr. Dubois asked all to wish one another a “Happy Feast of the Epiphany.” A multicultural celebration followed in the Parish Hall.
Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School basketball player Olivia Davis reached the 1,000-point milestone during a game on Jan. 6, 2023. After the home game in Sarasota, the star player was honored and recognized for this remarkable achievement, something that is rare in high school basketball.
Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers welcomed students from St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers and St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral for Mass on Jan. 10, 2023. The younger students led everyone in song and afterwards Principal Suzie O’Grady invited students to participate in the “Three Kings” celebration. Following the Mass, the “Three Kings” went around campus writing the following on every door: 20 + C + M + B + 23. For centuries, faithful Catholics have marked the entrance to their homes with a symbol of faith, asking that Jesus bless all who live within the home. The message is as follows: [the first two digits of the year] + C + M + B + [the last two digits of the year]. The “C”, “M”, and “B” stand for the names of the three Magi – Caspar, Malchior & Balthazar, and the “+” represents the cross. The message also abbreviates the Latin phrase, Christus Mansionem Benedicat, meaning “May Christ bless the house.”
St. Paul Parish in Arcadia held a special “Three Kings” celebration on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, Jan. 8, 2023.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane issued a statement within hours of the passing of Pope Benedict to the faithful of the Diocese of Venice: “The Catholic Church throughout the world mourns the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who died today, December 31, 2022. We are saddened by the loss of such a renowned, humble scholar and Shepherd, who gave his life to the service of the Universal Church. The longest living Pope, he was a giant of faith and reason.”
The Bishop noted how he was blessed to know then-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and later Pope Benedict XVI. The two first met when Bishop Dewane was a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. This encounter took place while Cardinal Ratzinger was crossing St. Peter’s Square and paused to speak to a group of four U.S. seminarians, with the future Bishop Dewane among them. Cardinal Ratzinger recognized the group as Americans and took the time to speak with them.
Passed through generations, the retelling of the coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in such a humble way, born in a manger to reign over the world, should cause everyone to pause and reflect on the gifts of grace that have come to each one of us.
Bishop Dewane also celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. At the Midnight Mass, the Bishop brought forth the Child Jesus and placed Him in the manger as “O Come All Ye Faithful” was sung.
The manger, or Nativity scene, is a celebratory focus of the Christmas celebration. Several Diocesan Parishes and each Catholic school took time to have a retelling of the birth of Jesus with young children and in some cases with live animals.
Meanwhile, the eighth graders at the school and nearby Parish, worked together to learn about Catholic social teachings, to help those in need. The results were amazing. The Sarasota youth created 140 gift cards and handmade Christmas ornaments for the elderly residents at a Catholic Charities facility; donated 100+ blankets for the homeless; made Get Well/Christmas Cards for those in the hospital; collected and donated toys and household items for needy families; stocked pantries with food and supplies; and much more.
