Bishop Frank J. Dewane continues to lead the Diocese of Venice response to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Ian as he visits impacted Parishes and communities while also seeing first-hand what is being done to help people in need.
Bishop Dewane celebrated Mass on Oct. 8, 2022, at St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Cape Coral, a region hard hit by Ian’s harsh winds and storm surge. Many, 13 days after the storm, still had no power in their homes.
“It is an honor to be here to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in Cape Coral,” Bishop Dewane said. “Many of you have suffered and are still suffering as you try to recover from Ian’s wrath. We are gathered here to pray for the healing of those in need and give thanks for what you still have.”
The damage to homes in the area was so extensive that St. Katharine Drexel is the home of one of 10 Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc., disaster distribution sites set up to help the community with basic needs of food, water and other supplies necessary for recovery after the storm.
The Gospel reading (Luke 17:11-19) tells of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus, but only one returned to thank the Lord.
“Be the one,” Bishop Dewane said. “The one who gives thanks to the Lord for the graces and gifts that are bestowed upon you each day. Now is the time to give your thanks. We are each grateful to be here as we move forward to recover from this hurricane and live our lives… It is going to take time to make repairs to the roof, but we need to give ourselves to the Lord, blessed and thankful for all we have.”
Immediately following the passage of Ian, Bishop Dewane began to visit the sites of destruction caused by the hurricane. It was on Oct. 6, 2022, when he was able to visit the hard-hit communities in Desoto and Hardee counties. Access to these areas was extremely limited by river flooding and the areas were under ongoing states of emergency.
Both the Myakka and Peace rivers had record crests, pouring water into the low-lying communities of Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Wauchula, Bowling Green, as well as in Venice, Sarasota and North Port which the Bishop visited previously.
During the Oct. 6 visit, Bishop Dewane saw the devastation first-hand, noting the destroyed homes, many of which, stood up to the ferocious winds of the hurricane only to be washed away days later by flood waters. Many lost the entire contents of their homes and were left living in their vehicles unsure what to do.
While visiting St. Michael Parish in Wauchula, the Bishop learned firsthand about the devastating flooding to the community, as well as about a fire which destroyed 108 apartments, leaving many in desperate situations. He toured the Parish food pantry which was well-stocked from supplies provided by a regional food bank as well as from Catholic Charities.
During his visit, Bishop Dewane spoke to families and offered several blessings for healing as they continued to suffer from the storm that had finally passed.
At St. Paul Parish in Arcadia, the Bishop met with Administrator Father Luis Pacheco. They inspected water leaks to the Parish church, as well as damage to the roofs of the old church and Parish Hall.
St. Paul is also one of the Catholic Charities disaster recovery distribution sites, which included food, water, blankets, tarps, cleaning supplies, sunscreen, batteries, diapers and more. The Bishop greeted and thanked the Catholic Charities staff and volunteers for their hard work.
Bishop Dewane returned to St. Paul on Oct. 10, when he met with 12 seminarians studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, who were doing a service trip to assist in the area on Columbus Day. Seminary Rector Msgr. Alfredo Hernandez and the seminarians were divided into three groups. The Bishop, Rector, and Father Pacheco helped create 550 bags of rice and beans after breaking open larger 50-pound bags. Another group helped clear debris from the property, while a third group went to a poor community to distribute food, water, clothes and toiletries.
“In spite of going in two loaded vans, they had to do four trips in total to cover the immediate need,” Father Pacheco said. “Blessed be God!! I think it was a great exercise in ministry, compassion and reality to our seminarians, future priests of our Holy Catholic Church.”
This outreach has been made possible by the direction of CEO Eddie Gloria, his team, volunteers and the guidance of Bishop Frank J. Dewane.
Catholic Charities USA President and CEO, Sister Donna Markham, OP, visited the Diocese of Venice on Oct. 12, 2022, to get an update on how the response is progressing.
“Now it is your turn,” Sister said. “We are here with the enormous generosity of a lot of people, who have helped us by sending in donations (through the CCUSA website). We take every single dollar from our donors and ensure they will go directly to the people affected by a disaster. In this case, in what I hope will be more to come, is an initial check for humanitarian relief in the amount of $500,000.”
Arcadia was a site of total devastation. Many homes were damaged or destroyed by the fierce winds of Ian, but it was the flooding from the Peace River, which lazily flows through the western portion of the area that brought more destruction. The river rose to record levels and cut the city in half, that did most of the destruction.
This is why the front parking lot of the Parish church, which sits on State Road 70, the main east-west road through the rural city, was a hive of activity as churches of all denominations brought clothing and emergency supplies for people to choose from.
On the back side of the Parish church is the Catholic Charities disaster distribution site, which includes water, food, sunscreen, batteries, blankets, tarps, cleaning supplies and more. Trucks from all over resupply the site each day as the demand continues.
By Oct. 10, all but four of the 15 Diocesan Catholic schools had reopened, with the exceptions being St Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Port Charlotte, St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral, along with St. Francis Xavier Catholic School and Bishop Verot Catholic High School, both in Fort Myers. Each of those schools had some damage and are expected to resume classes by Oct. 18. The delays in reopening were primarily due to a lack of power and reliable drinking water in the impacted areas.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane is calling on to continue to support the efforts of the Diocese of Venice and Catholic Charities in response to the destruction of Hurricane Ian. Several Parishes have lost Church buildings, and others have facilities severely damaged by the storm. In addition, many people throughout the region have endured significant suffering. To respond to these calamities, Parishes in the Diocese of Venice will take up a special collection the weekend of Oct. 22-23, 2022. The collection will help provide for the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church, as well as the efforts of Catholic Charities in providing both immediate and long-term assistance to those impacted. It is asked that, in face of such significant loss, those who are able consider donating to help our brothers and sisters in Christ in their time of great need.
Father Leo Frechette, who was a retired priest that assisted at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Avon Park since 2007, died at the age of 93 in Sebring on Oct. 5, 2022. Father Frechette was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1955, and was a priest of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire where he served for 40 years until his retirement in 1995. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Oct. 13, 2022, at Our Lady of Grace Parish.
The 2022 Diocesan Rosary Congress was a huge success, even with Hurricane Ian causing a few Parishes to cancel or alter their participation. Initially, 19 Parishes were registered to offer a 24-hour period of Eucharistic Adoration, hourly praying of the rosary and the celebration of the Mass. Diocesan Evangelization Director James Gontis said that while five of 19 Parishes were forced to cancel their participation because of Ian, the balance enthusiastically stayed a part of the Congress. “It was a beautiful outpouring of Faith at each location,” Gontis said, noting several had large groups while others ensured that each hour of the 24 was covered by at least one person.
Recognizing that this is a time of suffering and trial for many, we continue to pray for those affected by Hurricane Ian. As we move forward with the mission of Christ in the Diocese of Venice, we hope you will join us at the “Together in Holiness” Marriage Conference, presented in partnership with the Diocese of Venice Office of Family Life and the St. John Paul II Foundation, is Saturday, Oct. 22. To register for the conference , please visit 
In the wake of the storm’s passage, the response to Ian from Diocesan officials has been swift and unrelenting with teams assessing damage and organizing relief efforts spearheaded by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. The result has been nothing short of amazing as damage is being mitigated or even repaired, while distribution points for disaster relief (water and food) have been set up in five counties.
Parishes in the far northern and eastern parts of the Diocese were overall spared the most serve parts of Ian’s wrath and were able to resume normal schedules quickly while other Parishes were opened to the faithful to pray on a limited basis when it was safe. Still others have not yet reopened.
“The area suffered a great deal because of Ian, and a lot of people are much worse off than others, but still, we gather together in prayer to ask God’s blessing; that He place His healing hand upon all who suffer as a result of Hurricane Ian,” Bishop Dewane said during the opening of Mass at San Pedro.
Garvey and his family escaped the storm a bit dazed and with a few minor scrapes and bruises. While devastated by the destruction of his home, he was amazed when several good Samaritans came by and put a tarp on his roof and helped clean out the house of broken furniture. “We are blessed. We are alive. I can’t ask for more.”
Meanwhile, work crews are arriving daily at Parishes and Schools to help mitigate any further damage and make estimates on what work needs to be done to get churches and other facilities repaired as quickly as possible. Diocesan teams are already working to temporarily fix roofs by clearing debris and sealing them while also airing out interiors of structures that had water intrusion.
The most serious damage was at Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School in Venice, with one section of roof torn off with ensuing water damage to first and second floor classrooms. Other damage at schools included leaky roofs and walls, damaged fencing and other impacts from winds and debris. While all 15 schools closed ahead of Ian, by Oct. 5, six had reopened with Father Belmonte expecting more to open soon.
Since that time, Catholic Charities has set up 8 Hurricane Ian disaster response Points of Distribution (POD), helping to bring water, food and aid to those who need it. Arcadia, Cape Coral, Wauchula, Naples, Bonita Springs and North Port each have one location, and there are three in Fort Myers. Additional unofficial distribution points have opened as the need has increased in parts of Lee and Charlotte counties.
Nearly all of the Catholic Charities workers and volunteers helping to distribute emergency supplies in Fort Myers had some sort of damage from Ian. Few had power or drinkable water. One worker lost his home when storm surge came up the Caloosahatchee River into Fort Myers. Someone who has an Airbnb home in Ave Maria offered their place for the rest of October for free.
At the Centro Juan Diego Catholic Charities offices in Bonita Springs next to St. Leo the Great Parish, the scene was similar with a huge number of vehicles arriving early in the morning before the POD was operational and staffed.
River flooding of low-lying areas and standing water has made travel difficult, especially when Interstate 75 was closed in North Port for more than a day and the U.S. 41 bridges in Punta Gorda for several days.
As for the faculty, Father Belmonte said that as of Oct. 4, a number had catastrophic damage to homes, while many others have some damage. It is for this reason that some of the schools that are safe to open, are slightly delayed in that process.
Father Patrick O’Connor, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales and Pastor of Jesus the Worker Parish in Fort Myers, decided to ride out the storm inside the Parish church with Parochial Vicar Father Jose del Olmo. This was safe a bet because the new church was completed in 2011 to the highest standards. The area around the church is a very poor migrant community with many manufactured homes or houses built in the 1950s. Because many sought safety in the church when Hurricane Irma approached in 2017, Father O’Connor posted on all the doors of the church and Parish offices a list of nearby shelters. When the storm began most went to shelters, but when it got worse, the church was the safest place.
“It was crazy!” Father O’Connor explained. “Lots of families… We could not even open most of the doors because of the wind.” Everyone was safe as the church came through unscathed. However, the Parish Hall lost roof tiles, and San Jose Mission in South Fort Myers, which is administered by Jesus the Worker, was inundated with flood waters. In the days after the storm passed, volunteers cleaned out the Mission church and hall as best they could. Since then, the Parish has a been abuzz with activity of relief efforts to help the community with needed emergency supplies with the assistance of several organizations, including Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.
Nestled due east of Bradenton, St. Michael Parish in Wauchula sits in Hardee County, a rural community that prides itself on independence and resilience in times of adversity. Hurricane Ian has been the toughest challenge so far, but the spirit of the people remains strong as many families recover from the double hit of wind damage followed soon after by massive river flooding which caused hundreds to lose their homes to the Peace River. The Parish has a robust food pantry which is operated by a dedicated group of volunteers and the religious sisters who serve the community, Servant Sisters of the Virgin of Matara. With power out, it became clear that the food in the freezers would not last. So, a barbecue was planned for the night after the storm on Sept. 29. This was such a huge success; hot meals have been served each night since. Families emptied their own refrigerators and freezers before the food spoiled so the food was plentiful. Despite not having electricity, parish volunteers utilized a propane-powered stove and oven, outdoor grills and battery-powered lanterns to cook a hot meal each day following the hurricane. Outside large pots of pasta boiled while lasagna cooked in the kitchen of the Parish Hall. Since the storm, about 420 hot meals have been served each night. During the day, as more and more relief supplies arrive, distributions are taking place helping people get through each day.
When three semitrailers full of supplies arrived at St. Katharine Drexel parish in Cape Coral on Tuesday, Sept. 4, and no forklifts were to be seen, a call went out for help. And help arrived in the form of dozens of volunteers, including many from the Parish Youth Outreach. These teens stepped up to help. The Cape Coral region experienced extreme damage and flooding and, even a week later, less than 20 percent of the city had power and few had drinkable water. The supplies being unloaded were desperately needed, even by some of the teens helping. Pastor Father Ricky Varner praised the youth for assisting in the difficult conditions.
Some of the worst damage in the northern portions of the Diocese was to the roof of Incarnation Parish Church. Large chunks of copper roofing peeled off and were scattered everywhere. Some landed in the parking lot, others into carefully manicured gardens. One large piece that flew off the church building landed in a prayer garden where a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands and can be seen through a window as the faithful enter church. A post on social media from the Parish read: “Several large pieces fell here surrounding our Blessed Mother statue, but thankfully causing no harm!”
St. Vincent de Paul Society in Naples delivered Meals on Wheels amid Hurricane Ian’s destruction. Thanks to volunteers and staff, the Society was able to deliver shelf stable food to those who rely on Meals on Wheels for their daily meals. The Society posted to social media a day after Ian passed, “The destruction that was seen while delivering was truly heartbreaking.”
“Catholic Charities and The Diocese of Venice are working together to ensure that we are doing all we can,” said the Bishop Frank J. Dewane. “There are many in need of help, and we are grateful for those who have volunteered their time, talents, or resources in the service of our brothers and sisters in need. Please join me in continuing to pray for the safety and recovery of those affected by the hurricane, and for all the first responders and helpers. May God bless you.”
Celebrated by Bishop Austin A. Vetter of Helena, Montana, the ordination of 23 men from the Pontifical North American College is one of the final steps toward priesthood.
“I think I was fascinated because I never considered how one became a priest. I didn’t even know what a seminary was… this was a big moment in my life because the thought that my own brother might become a priest made this vocation become real and personal to me.”
Deacon Scanlan said “when we follow God’s plan for our lives, we know that is what will be most fulfilling, most rewarding, and most satisfying because it is the mission He created us for while in our mother’s womb. People often come up to me and thank me for my ‘yes’ to the priesthood. I always appreciate their sentiment but at the same time, it is easy for me to say ‘yes’ because I want to serve and give myself to the Church.”
