The Catholic Church relies on its Parish Pastors to lead and to be a guide in the spiritual and everyday life of any Parish. These priests are called to serve in persona Christi bringing the Body and Blood of Christ on the altar of the Lord.
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.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane installed Father Eduardo Coll as Pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Cape Coral on Aug. 22, 2021 and Father Casey Jones as Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Naples on Aug. 23, 2021. Both Masses were in English and Spanish reflecting the diversity of each Parish.
“It is my prayer that you continue to join your new Pastor at the Altar of the Lord,” Bishop Dewane said. “A Pastor, and the priests who serve at your Parish, call down upon this altar the Body and Blood of Christ for themselves and for all of you.”
The Bishop asked that the faithful listen to their Pastor and accept decisions that are made. While they may not always agree with all of his decisions, they must strive to understand that any action is based on prayerful contemplation and the good of all centered on Christ.
“If there are differences, I ask you to strive to understand,” Bishop Dewane said. “People weren’t always in agreement with what Christ. They walked away. Don’t walk away. Stay with Christ. It is about the priest being the instrument of the Lord and bringing about the Eucharist at this Parish and you the faithful coming forward to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. When you return to the pew, with the help of your Pastor, you will go out into the society and gnaw on the Presence of Christ in your life.”
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.
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.
In Cape Coral, a blessing of newly installed pews was added to the conclusion of the Mass. Father Coll was also recognized for being the leader of St. Andrew Catholic School.
At. St. Elizabeth Seton, the Bishop blessed a newly installed icon of Jesus the Eternal High Priest. Father Jones was also recognized for being the leader of St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School and Chaplain of Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers.
The dedication will be followed by a barbecue lunch. All are invited to attend this special event in the life of the Diocese of Venice. However, space is limited and RSVP for the dedication is required via the website at 
Bishop Frank J. Dewane led a blessing and groundbreaking ceremony on April 28, 2021 with a group of about 25 parishioners present to cheer on the project.
The new Parish Center will be approximately 30,000 square-feet, include two auditoriums and a pre-function space, classrooms, offices, conference rooms, catering kitchen and elevator. The project is expected to take a year.
Bishop Dewane began the groundbreaking with a brief prayer service, as well as blessing the construction site with holy water. As a continuation of the groundbreaking, Bishop joined Father Ratzmann, as well as representatives of the contractors and a few dignitaries, to turn dirt with special shovels.
The installation of a new tabernacle is an important moment for a Parish and was so at St. Andrew Parish in Cape Coral on Jan. 23, 2021. For the occasion, Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated Mass, during which he blessed the new tabernacle and a new monstrance.
The tabernacle is gold plated with silver inlay. It has an image of the Resurrected Christ on the front, angels on the side, and a symbol of the Holy Trinity on the reverse. The two-sided tabernacle is needed as the Church is designed with the main worship space on one side of a glass wall, and a Chapel on the other side. The tabernacle is at the center of the wall behind the main altar. This dividing wall displays frosted glass images of various saints. A custom glass partition will be installed soon to complete the work in the sanctuary.
Since its installation, the faithful have taken the opportunity to take images of the new tabernacle.
That mission was celebrated with a dedication and blessing ceremony of the Outreach Center by Bishop Frank J. Dewane on Nov. 21, 2020. Participating in the ceremony were staff, volunteers, supporters and local government officials (including Hardee County Manager Lawrence McNaul), as well as the Servant Sisters of the Virgin Matara, the religious sisters who serve at St. Michael Parish. Among the supporters’ present were members of the Our Lady of the Angels Knights of Columbus.
As part of the ceremony, a prayer service, which included Bishop Dewane first incensing the exterior and interior of the building as well as blessing the building with holy water. The was followed by comments for key people involved in the Outreach Center.
Another example of a need is that of musical instruments. Thanks to a donation of a grand piano, the Outreach Center does offer piano lessons. However, only a few children are learning to play, while other music lessons are limited to teaching basic notes and rhythm. The wish list includes Yamaha electric pianos (with headphones) as well as other instruments, so as more children can learn at the same time.
Warring lost her husband of 58 years in 2016 when Sammy was nearly 3 years old and the two have been nearly inseparable since. The companionship has been valued more since the pandemic began, which is why Warring wanted to be certain Sammy received a proper blessing with Holy Water from Deacon Jack Milholland.
Donivan spent 40 years at Cardinal Mooney, first as a coach and then athletic director and coached a number of teams before taking over as director of athletics. During his time at Mooney, Donivan coached boy’s basketball for 21 years, started and coached the track and field program, coached cross country and JV football and did so much more to promote athletics at the school.
The blessing was led by Mooney Chaplain Father Eric Scanlan on a cold and windy night. Present for the blessing were Donivan and members of his family, as well as students, faculty and staff and alumni.
Lento said student choose Cardinal Mooney for a learning experience that will help them to prepare for a bright future in college, and the extensive use of technology is a big factor in that decision. With the new Learning Center “Cardinal Mooney has now upped the ante… I thank the Baird family and the Gail Baird Foundation for renovating this facility and for bettering the quality of our learning environment.”
On Jan. 5, the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Feast Day of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Bishop Frank J. Dewane presided over a tri-lingual Mass (English, Spanish and Polish). This annual tradition includes the different language communities that are based at the Cathedral. At the beginning of the Mass, Bishop Dewane blessed the Cathedral where it is inscribed 20+C+M+B+20 (the year and the initials of the three magi) above the main interior entrance to the Church.
