Cards, rosaries, prayer cards and much more have flowed into the Diocese of Venice from Catholic schools around the country as they send their prayers and support following Hurricane Ian.
The most recent delivery of backpacks full of supplies came from Immaculate Conception Catholic School and Immaculata Catholic High School in Somerville, New Jersey. Officials from the schools, whose own communities were impacted by Hurricane Ida in 2021, saw a request for assistance through social media and offered to help.
Their contact in the Diocese of Venice was Siobhan Young, Principal at St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota. Young explained to the New jersey school officials how only five of 15 Diocesan Catholic schools were spared damage and that many Catholic school faculty, staff and families suffered devastating impacts.
Colleen Paras, director of campus ministry for Immaculata High School, told Young that the Somerville school communities were impacted by Hurricane Ida. Their experience with Ida, combined with witnessing the images of catastrophe from Ian, made a lasting impression on the students. “Our students had so much exposure to it – how could we not give them an invitation to respond? We know how important it is for anybody and everybody to offer acts of love, so even though we are not there with them, this is our opportunity to pay back what we were given (after Ida).”
Fifteen boxes of backpacks, each with school supplies and a handmade card, were shipped to Young at St. Martha. The cost for shipping was generously underwritten by an alum of Immaculata.
Some 100 backpacks were delivered to Sarasota and then transferred to St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers on Nov. 8, 2022. The backpacks will be split amongst needy students and children in the St. Francis Xavier religious education program which also had many families overwhelmed by the hurricane.
“Our families have been hit hard,” St. Francis Xavier Principal Gulley said, noting several faculty and staff also suffered. “Many lost everything, and even more had major damage. It has been very difficult for everyone.” Gulley was overwhelmed by the generosity of the New Jersey schools.
The items sent from Catholic schools across the country, including care packages, notes of encouragement, and school supplies, are going a long way to assist students and families who are struggling.
One item received was class artwork from St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in the Bronx, N.Y. The artwork includes a hand-rainbow, or a rainbow with the outline of the hands of each student displayed in a colorful rainbow. Gulley wrote back to the school in New York saying, “Thank you so much for sending your class artwork and including us in your prayers in the wake of Hurricane Ian. I can’t tell you how amazing and overwhelmingly the outpouring of support has been.”
Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Education, has been forwarding many expressions of support to St. Francis Xavier, as well as to St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral and Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers.
“The outpouring of generosity from Catholic schools all over the country is truly humbling,” Father Belmonte said. “It’s in moments of crisis and need like this, when we see our Catholic schools at their best. Students and teachers around the country have prayed and been very generous in helping hurricane victims.”
The generosity first came from Catholic schools in the Diocese of Venice, in areas less hard hit by Ian. The initial focus was on immediate needs of the local community, and once addressed, and the extent of the devastation in Fort Myers and Cape Coral became clear, the outreach pivoted to helping the Catholic schools in Lee County.
Several truckloads of goods were shipped from Diocesan Catholic schools in Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, Sebring, Ave Maria and Naples to the hardest hit areas in Lee and Charlotte counties.
St. Andrew Principal David Nelson said the gifts have ranged from prayers, cards for students, financial support to school supplies.
“They have been a huge blessing,” Nelson said. “We still have families who are just trying to get through each day. We are finding supplies and materials which will assist them now and even a few months down the road. Knowing others around the country are wanting to support our school and families has meant so much to our community. While Southwest Florida has gone through a horrific event, we are blessed to be back in school and have the support of so many generous individuals and institutions.”
Bishop Verot Principal Suzie O’Grady said each new arrival of a donation, whether cards, school supplies, generators, or other items, helps in the healing process.
“Knowing so many people are praying for us has a deeply profound meaning as we continue to recover from the devastation,” O’Grady said.
Father Belmonte added that many other schools across the country embarked upon various fundraising efforts, such as school dress-down days or other activities, and have sent checks to the Diocese to be used in the recovery efforts from Ian.
“Truly wonderful to see this far-reaching response,” Father said. “These Catholic schools recognized a need and did not hesitate to act to help their brothers and sisters in Christ.”
The 40 Days for Life fall campaign concluded on Nov. 6, 2022, with local efforts taking place in Sarasota and Fort Myers. The campaign began Sept. 28 but was delayed locally due to the arrival and impacts of Hurricane Ian.
During a closing vigil Jericho Walk on Nov. 5, Owens led a group of about 30 prayer warriors to rally and continue the fight to end abortion beyond the 40 days. The group circled the abortion facility, led by a banner which read “Viva Christo Rey – By Thy Power May Peace Come,” seven times. At the conclusion a horn blasted as everyone shouted in prayer, just as God told the Israelites in Joshua 6: 4-5, “On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. When they give a long blast on the ram’s horns and you hear the sound of the horn, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and the people shall attack straight ahead.”
To remember those events, the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County hosted its annual “Kristallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass” Nov. 5, 2022, at Temple Shalom in Naples. The event was co-sponsored by the Diocese of Venice and Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, GenShoah of SWFL, and the Holocaust Museum and Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center.
“Each one of us has a responsibility to take action when we see anti-Semitism,” Bishop Dewane continued. “It isn’t just for the Dialogue group to resolve. It isn’t just for a Parish or synagogue. It’s for all of us to come together when we see the negativity that can rears its head, just as it did so many years ago when Kristallnacht foreshadowed what the world never thought could happen (the Holocaust) – and it did happen. You and I have responsibilities to speak out and to speak up.”
A winter resident from New Jersey and seasonal member of St. Patrick Parish in Sarasota, Owens participated several times in the 40 Days for Life fall campaign in Sarasota. The Diocesan Respect Life Office has been coordinating the campaign since the first national fall campaign in 2007.
On Nov. 4, 2022, the celebration opened with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane as students sat with their grandparents in Our Lady of the Angels School Chapel. Afterwards, everyone went to the Student Life Center for a luncheon.
“The Holy Father calls you to teach family roots, where it is they come from,” Bishop Dewane said. “Have boldness, take action in the role of holiness. Give that example by being the light of Christ, as we are all called to be. By your granddaughter or grandson being here at St. John Neuman, I say to all of you – congratulations for the role you have performed.”
This was the 18th Annual Hispanic Festival and an estimated 12,000 people descended on the Parish for this return event following a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Father Celestino Gutierrez, Pastor of St. Jude, officially opened the Hispanic Festival with a prayer. This followed a “Parade of Flags” when each country represented at the festival was announced, and the respective flags brought forth cheers from the crowd.
Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School junior Addison Dempsey took the silver medal in the Class 2A girls Florida High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championship on Nov. 5, 2022, in Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. Dempsey crossed the 5,000-meter (or 3.1 mile) race in 17:54, just 11 seconds behind the winner. The Mooney girls’ team came in 25th overall, with Kate Ruaona placing 11th. The Sarasota boys finished in 20th, with the top runner, Christian Kline placing 37th. At the same event, the Bishop Verot Catholic High School runners from Fort Myers also participated, with sophomore Mackenzie De Lisle placing fifth. The boy’s team took fifth place overall, with the top runner, Grayson Tubbs, placing 16th. Congratulations everyone!
The Veterans of Foreign War Golden Gate Post 7721 visited St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School in Naples on Nov. 4, 2022, to teach the eighth graders how to properly fold the American flag in advance of the school’s Veterans Day Tribute on Nov. 11.
Fourth grade science students at St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota learned all about Thermal Energy the week of Nov. 1, 2022. The students each constructed their own solar oven and placed the components for s’mores in them before bringing them outside to cook. The result: the ovens worked, and everyone had a delicious snack created in their own oven!
A fun time was had during “Silly String” festivities at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton on Nov. 4, 2022. The fun was a follow-up celebration to the successful annual Eagle Run fundraiser held earlier in the month. The seventh-grade class, which had great success during the Eagle Run, also celebrated with a McDonald’s party.
The demand was great,” said Eddie Gloria, CEO of Catholic Charities DOV. “Catholic Charities stepped up to do what had to be done even as many of our staff and volunteers suffered losses from Ian.”
The basics of food and water were available at each site, some from donations of individuals, families, Parishes, non-profit groups and even corporations. The majority of what was distributed was in the form of FEMA Disaster Relief supplies, which included cases of bottled water and boxes of meals-ready-to-eat.
“We are past the first phase, which is responding to the immediate aftermath of this disaster,” Branam said. “Now we are focusing on helping people rebuild their lives. This means case management and support with getting people back into their homes whenever possible. Even if a family didn’t have serious damage in the storm, many had time off from work that they really could not afford. Others had damage they cannot afford to take care of, and still others need to relocate.”
While Catholic Charities will always accept donations of cleaning supplies and food such as rice, beans and cooking oil, the real need is for financial donations, Gloria said.
Human beings naturally have a goal of personal fulfillment. A rather vague topic, achieving goodness can be defined so differently by any group of people. But Dr. Lisa Kotasek (affectionately known to her students as Dr. K), Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School 11th grade Theology teacher, has continued an inspiring tradition to make this commitment to the common good: the “Thank You Card Revolution.”
Kotasek connects the “Thank You Card Revolution” to Scripture, specifically to “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Ps. 118:24). For the junior class at Mooney, the 160 students rejoice in God’s goodness through their creative letters. All handmade, these cards signify the genuine character of each writer, an example of spreading positivity based on the idea that “if you receive one, you write one.” Expressing one’s feelings in this way encourages the gift of affability, where we spread joy and evangelize with the joy of the Gospel message.
Mooney senior Jessica Kaszubski said the “Thank You Card Revolution” was just as impactful. “I remember last year, Dr. K asked us to make a thank you card for someone in our class before we left. I remember writing a card for one of my friends, and I know that she still has it to this day. It was a very generous and thoughtful thing for Dr. K to have us do.”
Another Mooney senior, Cooper “Froggy” Flerlage was also fond of this selfless activity. A football player, track and field athlete, and choir singer, Cooper “loved the project-based learning… I’ll never forget Christmas in G-102 where we read aloud about St. Nick and enjoyed the season.”
Moving forward, Dr. K challenges all card receivers to stop by to get a blank card to send to someone else. This builds upon the Diocese of Venice Gifts of Christ initiative created by Jennifer Falestiny, Diocesan Curriculum Coordinator, into projects like this “revolution” during the school year. One of these gifts, unity, was expressed in a homily by Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Education, to Mooney’s student body upon their return after Hurricane Ian.
With its roots in German, Halloween (Hallow’s Eve) actually translates to Holy/Saints Evening, or evening of All Saints’ Day.
On Oct. 28, the St. Joseph second graders visited a nearby assisted living facility. In addition to trick-or-treating, the students performed Halloween poetry and songs for the residents. That same night, the school and Parish hosted a Truck-or-Treat where families went all out to come up with different themes.
Incarnation Parish in Sarasota offered the veneration of First Class Relics in between each Mass on the vigil and solemnity. On display at the Parish were relics from St. Catherine of Siena, St. Dominic, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. John of the Cross, St. Faustina, St. Francis of Assisi and many more. The idea for this grew from a spring tour of the “Relics of the Vatican” which drew great interest.
