commemoration Archives - Diocese of Venice

Diocese commemorates 25 years since 9/11 terror attacks

Posted on September 18, 2026September 18, 2026 by Bob Reddy

Although it has been 25 years since the United States was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, raw emotions still come to the surface for those who remember that dark day.

Johnny Schroeder, a retired New York firefighter who was on Engine 10, the first company to arrive at the World Trade Center after a jet airliner struck the north tower, spoke during a Sarasota Ministerial Association 9/11 commemoration at Sarasota National Cemetery.

Schroeder said he shouldn’t be alive, recounting moments of that terrible day in which he barely escaped the collapse of both towers, the horrific loss of countless friends, and how he suffers the lingering health struggles from inhaling toxic dust while working at Ground Zero. “I’m here to say thank you all for showing up and being here,” Schroeder said. “To all who survived that day, 25 years later we’re still rocking it.”

The commemoration included talks by various first responders and 9/11 survivors about the necessity to continue to mark Sept. 11, so that people can remember that day and its impact on America, to honor the fallen and to thank the first responders, and members of the military and veterans. The event was made possible in partnership with the Diocese of Venice and Sarasota County Emergency Services.

Father Jacob Gwynn, U.S. Navy Reserve, of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Naples, offered the opening invocation. Father Jiobani Batista and Deacon Humberto Alvia, of St. Jude Parish, Sarasota, offered the prayer of condolences in English and Spanish. Other priests and deacons from St. Martha and Incarnation parishes in Sarasota also participated. Students from Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School, Sarasota, volunteered and handed out programs and water.

The commemoration included the colors presented by a combined fire, police and sheriff’s office honor guard, a Knights of Columbus Honor Guard, patriotic music, and a flyover by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. The remembrance concluded with a 21-gun salute by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard and the playing of “Taps.”

Several Diocesan parishes celebrated commemorative Masses, including at St. Thomas More, Sarasota, St. John XXIII, Fort Myers, as well as at St. Peter the Apostles, St. Agnes, and St. John the Evangelist, each in Naples.

A Blue Mass to honor first responders took place Sept. 13, at Our Lady of Lourdes, Venice. The Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Patrick Dubois, Rector of Epiphany Cathedral. Msgr. Dubois acknowledged and was in awe of the selfless acts of bravery by all first responders, from those who entered the Twin Towers on 9/11 to those who work in the local community each day.

The Mass included the Sarasota County Fire Department Honor Guard, uniformed firefighters, Venice police officers, North Port police officers, Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies, K-9 search and rescue teams, among others. In addition, the Knights of Columbus Color Corps, the Knights on Bikes and many members of the Knights Council 9924 took part in the opening procession. The service concluded with the reading of the names of several retired first responders who died in the past year.

Diocesan Catholic schools also commemorated the 9/11 attacks, where the lessons were about remembering and educating a new generation about the impacts of 9/11 on the nation and the world, particularly because none of the students were born when the attacks occurred.

Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers gathered to remember those lives, to hear the personal stories of those who experienced that day, and to pray together as one school. In addition, 2,977 American flags were placed across the front of the campus – one for each life lost on September 11, 2001. Prior to the evening home football game, there was a tribute to first responders, the military and veterans.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement, which said in part: “As conflicts intensify around the world, let us renew our commitment to be Christ’s instruments of peace in an increasingly fractured and divided world.” To read the full statement, please visit Marking September 11 Anniversary, Archbishop Coakley Offers Prayers and Encourages Continued Commitment to be Instruments of Peace | USCCB.

All other schools held prayer services to mark the day.

25th anniversary of 9/11 to be marked in Diocese

Posted on September 1, 2026September 1, 2026 by Bob Reddy

Several events will be taking place throughout the Diocese of Venice to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States in which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.

Commemorations of the 9/11 anniversary are intended to remember those lost in the terror attacks, and in a particular way the first responders who sacrificed their lives to save others, while at the same time offering a public “thank you” to those who continue to serve the community as first responders.

The Diocese will be participating in the “Standing for Our Fallen 9/11 Twenty Five Year Commemoration,” at 5 p.m. Sept. 11, 2026, in Patriot Plaza of Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Road 72, Sarasota. The commemoration will open with a procession of the Knights of Columbus Color Corps, clergy and the presenters.

Most. Rev. Frank J. Dewane, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Venice, will offer the invocation. From St. Jude Parish in Sarasota, Father Jiobani Batista, pastor, and Deacon Humberto Alvia will offer the Prayer of Condolences. Deacon Alvia will also present a St. Mother Theresa quotation for unity. The commemoration will include prayers, a tolling of the bell for the fallen, testimony of a 9/11 survivor, the placing of a wreath and prayers for peace and unity. All are welcome.

Earlier that same day, St. Peter the Apostles Parish, 5130 Rattlesnake Hammock Road, Naples, will be hosting a 9/11 Mass of Remembrance at 8 a.m. The Mass has been held annually at the parish since 2002 for the 9/11 Families Association which includes former New York City firefighters and law enforcement as well as flight attendants and families of people who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center or the attack on the Pentagon. A piece of steel, which was cut from an I-beam support column at the World Trade Center and is in the shape of a cross, was presented to St. Peter the Apostle Parish in 2010 and is usually mounted on the wall behind the parish chapel altar. For the annual Mass, the steel cross is set out as a reminder of those lost.

The Fourth Degree Assembly 3862 of the Knights of Columbus of Ave Maria Parish, Ave Maria, will be hosting a 9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony following the 5 p.m. Mass on Sept. 11. The program begins at 6 p.m. and includes the singing of the National Anthem, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, 9/11 reflections, prayers for our nation and for peace, the playing of “Taps,” and the program will conclude with Eucharistic Adoration. All are welcome.

Two parishes will be hosting Blue Masses during the weekend to show gratitude and support for the men and women who serve the community. Join us as we gather and pray for all our first responders, active, retired and fallen, and their families. The Blue Mass at St. John the Evangelist, 625 111th Ave. N., Naples, is 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12; and the Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, 1301 Center Road, Venice, is noon, Sunday, Sept. 13, and is presented by the Knights of Columbus Our Lady of Lourdes Council 9924.

Please check with your local parish to learn of additional 9/11 commemorations.

Holocaust commemoration held in Naples – Survivor shares vivid account of perils he faced as a child

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Bob Reddy

It was on the night of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when members of the Nazi party sponsored anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) which attacked Jewish persons and destroyed Jewish owned property in Germany and Austria. Known as “Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass,” this event is regarded by historians as “the Night the Holocaust began” in Europe, which ultimately led to the murder of more than six million Jews.

To remember those events and to stand united in saying “Always Remember!” “Never Forget!” and “Never Again!” the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County (CJD) hosted its 21st annual “Kristallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass” on Nov. 17, 2024, at St. John the Evangelist Parish 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.

On behalf of the Diocese, Bishop Frank J. Dewane said the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue has really demonstrated a forward-looking vision, forming an ongoing relationship despite what is found in our own society.

“We cannot let the differences between us threaten the depth of the bond that is religious, theological, spiritual, and personal in many ways,” Bishop Dewane said. “We the people of our respective faiths have travelled the long and winding road in terms of history. The shared history has seen some dark days and many bright days. We are, and must continue to be, men and women of dialogue.”

The featured speaker was John Koenigsberg, who shared his Holocaust survival story. Koenigsberg was 5 when the Gestapo took away his grandfather and forced his family into hiding in occupied Holland. He would spend the next two years in the care of a Catholic family who took him in, while the fate of his parents remained unknown to him.

Koenigsberg was nearly eight when Allied forces liberated the Netherlands in 1945 and he later reunited with his parents, but he never saw his grandfather and many other family members again. During those two years in hiding, his home was a small cottage in a Nazi-controlled village in southern Holland, hidden away by the Snijckers, a sympathetic couple with four children of their own.

“I am one of the very, very fortunate ones,” Koenigsberg said. “Only seven percent of children under the age of 16 survived the Holocaust. By recent estimates, there are probably less than 75,000 fellow survivors left in the world.”

Following a lengthy application process, the national Holocaust memorial in Israel granted the “Righteous Among the Nations” honors to the Snijckers and added their names to the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous in Jerusalem in 2009. This is the highest honor Yad Vashem bestows upon non-Jews who risked their lives to come to the aid of the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

“If it was not for the bravery of Mom and Pop Snijckers – I, my children, grandchildren and generations of descendants in the future would not exist,” Koenigsberg said. “The reason I speak about my experiences and relive these memories is because I believe the lessons of the Holocaust should not become a footnote in history. We must educate younger generations and imbue them with a spirit of remembrance as well as the mission to combat all forms of racial, religious and ethnic hatred before it’s too late.”

A poignant moment during the annual commemoration was a candle lighting ceremony. Six candles were lit by Gen Shoah (first- second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors). Each lit their candle for the victims of the Holocaust and for a brighter future. A seventh candle was lit for the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in Israel and included a call for the return of 95 remaining hostages.

The CJD is affiliated with Jewish Federation of Greater Naples and the Collier County Parishes of the Diocese of Venice. Its purpose is to engage Catholics and Jews in understanding history and advancing the cause of mutual understanding and appreciation of differences as well as commonalities.