Young people from all over Southwest Florida will journey to a one-of-a-kind event to experience a spiritually fulfilling encounter with Jesus Christ – the 2021 Diocese of Venice Youth Rally.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane invites high school-aged teens to join him for a day that offers the Sacraments, music, speakers, a vocations/Catholic College fair and lots of fun! A key part of the day includes a large group Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which will lead into the celebration of the Mass.
“The Diocese is blessed to have everyone back together under one roof for the 2021 Diocesan Youth Rally,” Bishop Dewane said. “In 2020 we were apart for obvious reasons. Now is the time to bring our youth back together – celebrating our Faith and glorifying God.”
The 2021 Youth Rally is from noon until 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda. The theme for the Rally is “Sent” which comes directly from the Bible – “As you sent me in the world, so I sent them in the world” (John 17:18).
“The benefit of the Youth Rally is huge,” Joshua Mazrin, Diocese of Venice Director of Evangelization and Acting Director of Youth and Young Adult Outreach, explained. “This isn’t just a yearly event, it’s a catalyst for the Faith. The Youth Rally evokes actual change in people’s lives.”
Mazrin said past participants have shared how the Diocesan Youth Rally allowed them to encounter God in ways they never had before.
“This year will be especially powerful with a time for Eucharistic Adoration allowing each person to come up close to and more personal with Christ,” Mazrin continued. “These moments are a true experience with God’s love. Youth also get to live out their Faith with their friends. Many even make new friends at the Youth Rally. The experience with God is in the context of a fun, energetic event.”
For the 2021 Rally, the Diocese is thrilled to bring David Calavitta and Kelly Colangelo. For inspirational musical entertainment, the Francis Cabildo Band will perform.
Calavitta is a passionate Catholic in love with Christ and his Church and currently serves as the director of Creative and Marketing for Life Teen International. Colangelo has dedicated her life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ. She speaks internationally, has appeared on EWTN’s Life on the Rock, and has been a contributor to Life Teen and Chastity Project blogs. She currently serves as the director of Youth Ministry at a parish in northwest Florida. Meanwhile, Francis Cabildo is a singer-songwriter and worship leader from Southern California who hopes to bring people closer to the Lord through his music.
All the faithful within the Diocese are asked to support this important event with their prayers. Raise your voices to the Lord for our Youth!
For further information or to register youth, please contact your local Youth Director, Director of Religious Education, Scout Leader, or Campus Minister.
To watch a video promotion of the 2021 Diocesan of Venice Youth Rally, please visit www.dioceseofvenice.org.
Joshua Mazrin can be reached at 941-484-9543 or mazrin@dioceseofvenice.org.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane took part in an Open House on Oct. 13, 2021 and said a blessing for the continued success of Pregnancy Solutions in their new location at 950 Tamiami Trail, Suite 105. The Port Charlotte previous location was across from an abortion doctor’s office which closed during the summer. The other locations are in Venice and North Port.
Compare that to the first 10 weeks at the new location which included 196 individual visits, including 84 ultrasounds, 99 pregnancy tests and much more, Zdrojowy continued. Other services include offering pregnancy options, adoption referrals, material support, parenting classes, support for men, and after abortion support.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated Mass for the students at St. Catherine Catholic School in Sebring on Oct. 18, 2021. The Mass is the latest in a series of Masses celebrated by the Bishop for students at each of the 15 Diocesan Catholic schools. During the Mass, which took place on the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, Bishop Dewane encouraged the students to focus on developing their prayer life each day.
The Venice Diocesan Council of Catholic Women hosted a retreat on Oct. 16, 2021 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The bilingual retreat included talks from Father Janusz Jancarz, Spiritual Moderator for the VDCCW and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice; Father Claudio Stewart, Diocesan Director of Hispanic Ministries, and Father Thomas Heck, a retired priest of the Diocese. The women also participated in Mass, adoration and praying of the rosary.
“We find throughout Scriptures that persistence and perseverance is necessary for each of us in our prayer life,” said Bishop Dewane on Oct. 7, 2021, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. “Many pray the rosary every day and it has become an integral part of your life. A devotion to Our Lady through the rosary provides strength, drawing us closer to the Lord.”
This is why we meditate on the Mysteries and on the prayers, Bishop Dewane explained. “By doing so you become part of this history. Our Lady calls us to prayer and to acknowledge her Son. You do this by being the instruments of the Lord and calling others to come forth. Miracles will happen within us and within those around us because of our prayers and communications with the Lord.”
At Jesus the Worker Parish in Fort Myers, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is cause for celebration, as Our Lady is Patroness of Guatemala. A Mass was celebrated on Oct. 7 and a parish-wide celebration took place on Oct. 10 with a large procession through the Parish parking lot leading into Mass. The Mass was followed by festivities outside with food and music celebrating the Guatemalan culture all in honor of Our Lady.
From time to time a Parish requires a new Pastor and on this occasion the Bishop will appoint – after consultation with the Priest Personnel Board – and install this new leader marking a new chapter in the life for the faithful.
As part of the installation process, Bishop Dewane first introduces the priest as Pastor to the parishioners. The priest later begins the Profession of Faith for all to hear, including an additional part solely for him. The new Pastor then recites an Oath of Fidelity and promises to “adhere to the teachings, which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise authentic magisterium.” The installation also includes prayers to provide the new Pastor the wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit to lead the Parish.
This high praise was offered by some of the 120 couples from across the Diocese of Venice – newlyweds to those married more than 50 years and everywhere in between – who took part in one of the two simultaneous “Together in Holiness” Marriage Enrichment Conferences on Oct. 2, 2021.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane opened the Conference in Sarasota noting the importance of the attending and that such offerings will become more frequent “as marriages and families are the backbone of who the Church is; who the Church always has been; and who the Church will be going forward.”
Cotter provided parents with six focused concepts to grab onto and run with to make their home a “School of Virtue.” These included: be intentional; tell stories; start small; live community; pray; and evaluate frequently.
Father Jan Antonik, Parish Administrator, told a large gathering how honored and blessed the Parish was to have a First-Class Relic of St. Thérèse, something he strived to acquire since his appointment in early 2020. The relic was gifted to the Parish courtesy of Father Bob Kantor, Pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Naples, where it had been on display in the St. Agnes Adoration Chapel for many years. Bishop Frank J. Dewane approved and facilitated the transfer of the relic between the two Parishes
St. Thérèse was a Carmelite nun who was born in 1873. She entered a cloistered life at the age of 15, living in near obscurity at a convent in Lisieux, France and died at the age of 24. She was canonized in 1925 and in 1997 St. John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church in light of holiness and the influence of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.
Following Mass, single roses were distributed for the faithful to give to others as a “little way” of spreading the Love of Christ to others. Many also paused to view the relic and/or light a candle. A reception was held as part of the Feast Day celebration.
Those are the situations that Greg Hasek specializes in, most specifically in situations where men are dealing with addictions, past trauma or PTSD. But Hasek has another specialization: how abortion affects men and those roots run deep. Almost always, men aren’t coming to him for help with the aftermath of abortion. They are seeking him out because of an addiction that has nearly destroyed their lives.
Father Fitch has served as Administrator of the Parish and for Bishop Dewane the installation as Pastor would solidify in the minds of the faithful that Father was there to continue serving the Parishioners. 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 and for the community at St. Charles Borromeo.
The ceremony concluded with the signing of documents by the Bishop, the new Pastor, and two official witnesses of the Parish community, who serve as witnesses for all of the parishioners. Those documents are split between the Parish and Diocese as well as the Pastor’s personnel records.
