The Homecoming Football Game for the Bishop Verot Catholic High School Vikings on Oct. 22, 2021 in Fort Myers was a rousing success when they beat their long-time nemesis Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota.
The Mooney Cougars took an early 10-0 lead, but the tenacious Vikings came charging back to claim victory with the final score of 28-17. For the season, the Vikings are now 5-3 and the Cougars are 6-3.
The Homecoming Game opened with a special dedication to Coach Mike Gill, a 1968 graduate of Verot and teacher. The rivalry game marked the 50th Homecoming for Gill as a teacher. He teaches woodshop and is a favorite among multiple generations of Verot students who have viewed him as a mentor (he has coached several sports) and someone whom they admire and respect.
Just before kickoff, Gill was greeted by the referees and then was given the honor of making the coin-flip to decide who would get possession of the ball first. A special coin was struck for the occasion, which had the school logo on one side and “Coach Gill’s 50th Homecoming” on the reverse.
“This is all so humbling,” he said while trying to control his emotions as his entire family, including grandchildren, and all of the Verot faithful cheered him on.
Before the game, it was announced that the school designated that one of its courtyard’s would be named in his honor.
Among those congratulating Gill was Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education. Father Belmonte celebrated Mass for the Verot football team prior to the game and gave the Invocation. To be impartial, Father Belmonte spent the first half on the Verot sideline and the second half on the Mooney sideline.
Before the game was an Alumni tailgate and at halftime the Homecoming Court was presented. Homecoming Week included Mass, “Dressed to Impress Day,” a field day, “Alien and Astronaut Day,” game show competitions, a senior breakfast, Powderpuff football, and a traditional Homecoming Bonfire the night before the game.
St. Paul Parish in Arcadia held a special living rosary celebration on World Mission Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The youth of the Parish led the reading of the different decades of the rosary and stood in for the different beads. They were divided into five different groups, wearing distinctive colors, representing different mission countries throughout the world.
On the last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. This year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urges all Catholics to take part in a Christ the King Novena from Nov. 12-20, 2021. During the nine days preceding the Solemnity, the USCCB asks all to offer their prayers to Christ the King for the freedom of the Church. The USCCB Committee for Religious Freedom, in its core document “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty,” urged that “the Solemnity of Christ the King – a feast born out of resistance to totalitarian incursions against religious liberty – be a day specifically employed by bishops and priests to preach about religious liberty, both here and abroad.” A link to the novena can be found at www.dioceseofvenice.org.
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.
The prayer concluded the opening ceremony for Epiphany Cathedral School’s (ECS) celebration of National Faith and Blue Weekend conducted Oct. 7, 2021 on its campus in Venice. The event recognized Faith and Blue’s campaign to develop safer and stronger communities across the nation by unifying law enforcement professionals with their local faith-based organizations.
Concluding on a note of gratitude, students gave handwritten thank you cards to every man and woman wearing a badge that day. Usually stoic faces gave way to smiles as the officers opened and read the cards aloud to one another.
Principals, athletic directors and coaches from Diocese of Venice Catholic schools heard a presentation Oct. 12, 2021 at St. Ann Catholic School in Naples, titled “Play Like a Champion.” This is a comprehensive education program aimed at encouraging true character development while showing off core Catholic values in sports and being proactive in creating a positive environment for all levels. The group heard from Kristin Sheehan, Program Director, who explained how the outreach targets coaches, sport parents and athletes, teaching the positive character of sports with the aim of giving the game back to the children. St. Ann Principal Michael Buskirk shared his positive experience with implementing the “Play Like a Champion” program in his previous school and how it sets expectations and switches the current emphasis on sports from the “me” to the “we.”
As a part of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” Pope Francis has invited every Diocese in the world to inaugurate the beginning of the Synod with an opening Mass. In the Diocese of Venice, this opening Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 17, 2021, at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave., Venice. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this Mass. In this Diocesan Phase of the Synod, Catholics in the Diocese of Venice are encouraged to participate in listening sessions, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
A Catechetical Conference, hosted by Diocese of Venice Department of Education and spearheaded by the Office of Religious Education, provided an understanding as to how to bring Jesus Christ into the classroom as a catechist according to Church teachings.
Anne Chrzan, Diocesan Director of Religious Education, expressed her prayers that the Conference was an opportunity for catechists to learn how to better share the Good News of the Lord in their classrooms.
