Bishop F Dewane 2022 Easter Message from Diocese of Venice In Florida on Vimeo.
Please see below for the text of the Bishop’s message in English, Spanish and Creole
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Jesus Christ is Risen; Easter is our Triumphant Day. We share in Christ’s victory over sin and death. With Holy Mother Church, rejoice and be glad. As Christians worldwide celebrate Easter Day, I encourage the Catholic Faithful of the Diocese of Venice to manifest the joy of your Easter Faith.
With Alleluias ringing out in our Churches, may all lift their voices in praise of the Risen Lord and rejoice in the great things God has done for us through Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
Let us not be afraid to embrace the Risen Lord; allow His words and deeds to reflect the light that erupted from the empty tomb early in the morning of the first Easter. Let that be the light that burns brightly in the hearts of all believers.
No matter the challenges you and I face, Easter reminds us that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we have life in his name. He is Risen!
May this Easter Season be a time of joy and hope for you and your family. I extend to you my Apostolic Blessing this Easter. May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ-Risen from the dead- come down upon you and remain with you forever! Amen. Alleluia!
Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo,
Jesucristo ha resucitado; la Pascua es nuestro Triunfante Día. Con la Santa Madre Iglesia, gócense y alégrense, porque somos partícipes de la victoria de Cristo sobre el pecado y la muerte. Mientras los Cristianos de todo el mundo celebran la Pascua, invito a los Fieles Católicos de la Diócesis de Venice a manifestar la alegría de su Fe Pascual Dia.
Con Aleluyas resonando en nuestras Iglesias, que todos eleven sus voces en alabanza al Señor Resucitado y se regocijen en las grandes cosas que Dios ha hecho por nosotros a través de la Pasión, Muerte y Resurrección de Cristo.
No tengamos miedo de abrazar al Resucitado; permitamos que Sus palabras y mandamientos llenen nuestras vidas y reflejen la luz que brotó de la tumba vacía temprano en la mañana de la primera Pascua. Que esa sea la luz que arda intensamente en los corazones de todos los creyentes.
No importa los desafíos que usted y yo enfrentemos, la Pascua nos recuerda que Jesucristo es el Señor y que tenemos vida en Su nombre. ¡Él ha resucitado!
Que este Tiempo Pascual sea un tiempo de alegría y esperanza para ustedes y sus familias. Les extiendo mi Bendición Apostólica en esta Pascua. ¡Que la gracia de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Resucitado de entre los muertos, descienda sobre ustedes y los acompañe para siempre! Amén. ¡Aleluya!
Frè-m ak sè-m yo an Kris:
Jezikri leve soti vivan, Alelouya! Pak se jou triyonfan nou an. Nou patisipe nan viktwa Kris la sou peche ak lanmò. Avèk Legliz Manman Sen, fè kè nou kontan epi fè kè nou kontan. Kòm kretyen atravè lemond selebre Jou Pak sa a, mwen ankouraje Fidèl Katolik nan Dyosèz Venice pou manifeste lajwa Lafwa Pak ou a.
Avèk Alelouyas k ap sonnen nan Legliz nou yo, se pou tout moun leve vwa yo pou fè lwanj Senyè ki leve a epi rejwi nan gwo bagay Bondye fè pou nou grasa Pasyon, Lanmò ak Rezirèksyon Kris la.
Se pou nou pa pè anbrase Senyè ki leve a; pèmèt pawòl ak kòmandman l yo ranpli lavi nou epi reflete limyè ki te eklate nan tonm vid la byen bonè nan maten premye Pak la. Se pou sa se limyè ki boule nan kè tout moun ki kwè yo.
Kèlkeswa defi ou menm ak mwen rankontre, Pak fè nou sonje ke Jezikri se Senyè, e nou gen lavi nan non li. Li leve soti vivan!
Se pou Sezon Pak sa a vin yon tan lajwa ak espwa pou ou menm ak fanmi ou. Mwen bay ou benediksyon apostolik mwen Pak sa a. Se pou favè Jezikri, Seyè nou an, ki leve soti vivan pami mò yo, desann sou ou epi rete avèk ou pou tout tan! Amèn. Alelouya!
Diocese of Venice Seminarians Michael Young and Alan Baldarelli Jr. will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate, along with nine others, at 11 a.m. April 2, 2022, at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Boynton Beach. Young is studying at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, while Baldarelli is studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. Presiding over the ordination is Bishop David Toups of the Diocese of Beaumont. The liturgy will be livestreamed at www.svdp.edu/live. As newly ordained Transitional Deacons, these men will be assigned to Parishes where they will exercise their ministry in preparation to become priests. Among many duties, they will preach, perform baptisms, witness marriages, as well as preside over wakes and funerals. Please join in praying for Michael and Alan as they take this important step in their vocational journey.
St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School’s 40th Anniversary Celebration Gala & Auction was a great success in Naples on March 26, 2022. Parents, priests, parishioners, and other supporters attended the event at the Spirit Center of St. Peter the Apostle Parish. It was a fun night of fellowship, dinner, music and dancing with silent and live auctions, and a Call to the Heart to fund a second Kindergarten classroom in the fall. Demand for enrollment at Seton is at an all-time high creating a great need for additional classroom and administrative space. The event raised approximately $200,000 benefiting the school’s ongoing Campus Expansion Program to meet the needs of the many families desiring quality Catholic education for their children. For more information about the school’s expansion plans, visit www.Saintelizabethseton.com/Giving.
Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor and author, was the guest speaker at the annual Faith & Ale – Faith & Wine Joint Event in Lee County at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers on March 24, 2022. Approximately 650 heard Immaculée’s presentation as she shared her amazing story of being a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. In addition to sharing the details of having lost her parents and brothers, her message centered around the topic of faith, hope and forgiveness. Faith & Wine Lee County is a Catholic faith lay-group which unites women of all backgrounds. A related program, Faith & Ale, is a Catholic men’s group and will host its final gathering of the season on April 21 at St. John XXIII Parish, 13060 Palomino Lane, Fort Myers, for a presentation by Dan Hesse on the topic, “Can Catholic Values Save Capitalism?” Hesse is a retired CEO of AT&T Wireless Services and Sprint. The program begins at 6 p.m., with pizza and refreshments for a $10 donation. Reservations are required – please register online at www.faithandale.com.
Second grade students at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton completed a biography research project on March 25, 2022, which included making a presentation and dressing up as the historical figure they researched. The students also created posters, a wax museum and essays about the person. Among the historical figures chosen were Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Race for the Roses Gala, benefiting Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, was held March 25, 2022, at the Grove in Lakewood Ranch. Supporters dressed in their favorite outfits fit for a day at the Kentucky Derby. Proceeds were targeting the creation of a new science and physics labs. Ginger Judge was this year’s recipient of the School Sister’s of Notre Dame Award for her continuous support of Cardinal Mooney.
The girls track team of Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria Parish came home from the Immokalee Meet on March 23, 2022, with seven gold medals, two silvers, five bronzes and winning the meet overall! The boy’s team did well, too, earning multiple medals and an overall third place team finish. Special recognition goes to Freshman Izzy Meyer who brought home three gold medals. The results are impressive taking into account this is only the second year the school has had a track team.
On March 28, 2022, students at St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral partnered with the St. Vincent de Paul Society to create “care packages” for the needy of Southwest Florida. The students had been collecting the items for weeks leading up to a packing session. Items included various products that promote personal hygiene.
The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday), has its center in the Easter Vigil, and closes with Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Sunday of the Resurrection (Easter).
Later, was the traditional washing of the feet. A procession with the Holy Eucharist to transfer the Eucharist to the place of reposition in the Parish Hall followed the Prayer after Communion. This procession led out the main doors of the church and then around to the rear where the hall is located. Along the way were tiki torches to light the path.
Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The opening of Mass on the Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, begins with the Procession with Palms and a reading of the Gospel of Mark (11:1-10), describing the scene of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem days before He was put to death and resurrected . This opening is followed by the blessing of the palms and marks the start of Holy Week with the Easter Triduum beginning at sunset on Holy Thursday and continuing until the Great Easter Vigil.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated Mass on the Vigil of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, March 27, 2021, for the students and faculty of Ave Maria University. Following Mass was a community celebration of the Feast Day of the University, the Annunciation of Our Lord, moved from March 25 to the weekend to allow everyone to participate. The outdoor festivities included a barbeque dinner as well as musical entertainment.
“I am painfully aware that this causes you, good Catholics, difficulty as you are troubled and hurt by the loss of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the consolation of those Sacraments in your life,” Bishop Dewane said “Our churches are closed, but yet I think we have to think of something else. Christ isn’t quarantined from any of us. Indeed, the Gospel is not in chains. The Word of the Lord, it is out there. It is alive” Bishop Dewane said. “In prayer and in Faith we are people of the Word, the Word of God, the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. With both of these together, whether its online or from a distance, nothing can stand in our way.”
While the gathering for Mass had been suspended since mid-March, Palm Sunday, a day marking the triumphant entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, with its traditional distribution of palms and uplifting liturgy, as well as the reading of the Passion of Christ, assist in putting the faithful in the right frame of mind for the significant events of Holy Week.
The Easter Vigil, a Mass held after sunset on Saturday, April 11, 2020, is one of the most powerful liturgies of the year. The celebration is to start in darkness, usually with the Easter fire lit and the Easter Candle brought forward. This year, the Easter Candle was lit and there was no Easter fire. This needed change removed the opportunity for the congregation to each have lit candles, providing a soft glow inside the church. In addition, the church was not darkened for the first part of the liturgy, when a series of readings, beginning with Genesis, were read.
The rest of the Easter Vigil and the Easter Sunday liturgies were unaltered. The Renewal of Baptismal Promises was made at both but from afar for those watching at home.
“Wonderful!” “It’s true, we are home!” “Our prayers have been answered!” “What a glorious moment!” These are just some of the comments made as people entered the Church for the first time on Easter Sunday. Most looked up, knowing that on Sept. 10, 2017, when the fierce winds of Irma struck, a large section of the roof was blown off allowing water to flow in and severely damage the sanctuary.
Martie Granieri sings in the Parish Choir and was overjoyed that the Church opened in time for Easter. “Christ is where you find Him. He was in our gymnasium (which served as a temporary Church while repairs were made), He is where we gather in His name,” Granieri said. “But this place; the Church, 
is where we know Him best. We are so happy to be back.”
“We are very Blessed by Almighty God to be here,” said Father Russell Ruggiero, Parish Administrator, prior to Easter Sunday Mass to a standing room only crowd. “It is as people said, it is a Resurrection.”
This celebration comes after the holiest of weeks which began with the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and included the institution of the Eucharist (Communion) during the Last Supper, Institution of the Sacrament of Holy Orders as well as the betrayal by Judas on Holy Thursday and the suffering and death of Our Lord on Good Friday. The Resurrection on Easter completes the journey for Jesus but it is just the beginning of a new journey of belief and hope for the Faithful, Bishop Frank J. Dewane explained during an Easter Vigil Mass on April 15 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.
The Bishop noted the Gospel reading from the Vigil provides guidance to carry the message of Easter forward. The Gospel of Mark (16:1-7) tells the story of the women who were going to treat the body of Jesus in the Jewish custom and wondered along the way about how to remove the stone over the tomb. Determined to go on despite their own doubts, they found the stone rolled to the side and the Gospel then reads: “On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'”
During this Mass, the faithful hear the story of Salvation proclaimed in numerous Scripture readings. It is also at this time that the priests baptize and confirm any Catechumens and Candidates. There were 398 women and men who entered fully into the Catholic Church at parishes throughout the Diocese.
The Good Friday Liturgy, is not a Mass, but is comprised of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Veneration of the Cross and reception of Eucharist. All are invited to come forward for the Veneration of the Cross. Veneration of the Cross is the climax of our response to the Passion. The faithful are called to behold Christ in his great act of love and we respond with loving veneration. For Christians, veneration of one cross, with the Body of Christ on it, means loving service to the cross and taking up one’s cross and following Christ crucified. Everyone is asked to leave this liturgy in silence.
