Priestly Ordination to be Livestreamed
Bishop Frank J. Dewane invites the faithful to watch, via a livestream, the Ordination to the Priesthood of Transitional Deacons Christian Chami, David Portorreal, and Michael Young at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 16, from Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The Ordination, presided over by Bishop Frank J. Dewane, will be livestreamed via the Cathedral at www.facebook.com/epiphanycathedral. Links will also be available via the Diocesan website, www.dioceseofvenice.org, or the Cathedral website, www.epiphanycathedral.org. The livestream will begin a few minutes before 11 a.m. and be accessible later for those unable to watch live. Please note that you do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the livestream.
Appointments
After consultation, Bishop Frank J. Dewane announces the following:
Father Anthony Armstrong, O.Carm., appointed as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Osprey, effective July 1, 2022.
Father Frederick Tillotson, O.Carm., retired as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Osprey, effective July 1, 2022, and thus, is relieved of his duties as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.
Father Patrick Wilson, S.A.C., retired as Parochial Vicar of St. Martha Parish, effective July 4, 2022, and thus, is relieved of his duties as Parochial Vicar of St. Martha Parish.
Father Alexander Pince, appointed as Parochial Vicar of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, effective July 1, 2022, as he completed Licentiate Studies in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
Former Naples Pastor dies
Father John M. O’Neill, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, former Pastor at St. Ann Parish in Naples, died July 9, 2022, at the age of 77. Ordained to the priesthood on June 9, 1973, Father O’Neill served at schools and Parishes in Ohio, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Father was also assistant to the President of DeSales University and held several positions with the Oblates. Within the Diocese of Venice, Father O’Neill served as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Light Parish in Fort Myers from 2005-2008, and as Pastor of St. Ann Parish from June 2008 to March 2009. Father also served as a teacher at Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday, July 14, 2022, at the Oblate Community Chapel in Childs, Maryland. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father O’Neill, and for the consolation of his family.
Food pantry needs help
The St. Joseph Food Pantry in Bradenton is in need of peanut butter. This staple is an important part of the pantry’s Family Bags and provides a key source of protein for children in need in Manatee County. The Food Pantry is happy to accept bulk, large, and small containers of peanut butter, as well as other non-perishable food items. If you wish to make a financial contribution, your donation can be doubled thanks to a partnership with the Flanzer Trust. Donations can be delivered to 2704 33rd Ave. W. Bradenton, FL 34205, Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. till noon. Please call 941-756 3732 or email directors@stjoepantry.com if you have any questions or if you need to make arrangements for drop off. For more information about how you can help, please visit www.stjoepantry.com.
Marking 60 years of religious life
Sister Maureen Carroll is a Missionary Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) and is marking 60 years of religious life in 2022. A teacher at St. Ann Catholic School in Naples since 1989, Sister Maureen has taught grades 1 to 4 in Catholic schools in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois and Florida. Sister is a Support Teacher and teaches 2nd grade Religion at St. Ann and says her greatest joy is to lead the children to Jesus through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. Congratulations Sister Maureen!
Parish hosts annual 4th of July Picnic
St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Port Charlotte hosted its annual Fourth of July Family Picnic which drew hundreds to celebrate our nation’s freedom and the opportunity to enjoy some good food made by the parishioners.
St. Andrew alumnus named MLB All-Star
Congratulations to 2012 St. Andrew Catholic School Alumnus Shane McClanahan on being selected to his first career MLB All Star game, as starting pitcher representing the Tampa Bay Rays. McClanahan went to Cape Coral High School and then University of South Florida. He was the 31st Pick overall in 2018 MLB Draft for the Rays. In his second season in the majors, the lefthander has a 9-3 record, with a 1.73 earned run average and 141 strikeouts.
Independence Day Bike and Golf Cart Parade
The Knights of Columbus Ave Maria Assembly 3862 hosted the 6th annual “God Bless America” Independence Day Bike and Golf Cart Parade in Ave Maria. The ceremony began in the Piazza on the steps of the Church and included patriotic songs, prayers for our country, then a “Blessing of the Bikes.” The parade, which drew more than 500 people of all ages, include motorcycles, bicycles, trikes, golf carts, skateboards, and strollers all led by a fire truck.
The camp opened on June 6, 2022, with a Spacecation! Eager young scientists made space containers for gear, set up an experiment for hatching space eggs, built and operated robotic arms, and even created their own “Jupiter” volcanoes.
In the Marble Arcade portion of the camp, students started with chain reactions, zigzagged through physics, engineering and gaming as they built a mega marble arcade. This allowed the campers to study engineering while exploring friction, inclines, weights, and scales.
Some of the campers also helped harvest the latest crop of lettuce from the school’s new hydroponic garden. This food continues to grow prolifically and is donated to the neighboring St. Joseph Food Pantry. This experience has been a wonderful opportunity to show how food is grown and ways that we can help others in our community.
Wyatt Plattner, a recent graduate of Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, won the 50th Southern Junior Championship at the Country Club of Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2022. To take the title, Plattner notched four birdies on the back nine holes to post a final-round 67, earning a three-shot win in the 54-hole event at 9-under-par 201. The Mooney grad will play at the college level at the University of Cincinnati beginning this fall.
Catholic Charities Adoption Services is a state-wide agency that provides counseling to birth parents, and provisions or resources to meet the needs of birth parents considering adoption planning. If you or a loved one would like to learn more, please call Joan Pierse at 941-355-4680.
This group, as they are each year, is an impressive bunch. Among these graduates, 99 percent are heading off to higher education at some of the top colleges and universities in the land.
As a group, these graduates earned more than 40,000 services hours and $42 million in scholarship offers. Seven were identified as National Merit Scholars and many others graduated with honors.
At Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, the graduation was May 13, and the Valedictorian was Halle Monserez and Salutatorian was Peter Etz. The Baccalaureate Mass was celebrated at Incarnation Parish in Sarasota.
The graduation for Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers was May 21, with the Baccalaureate Mass at Resurrection Parish. Verot had 32 students recognized as top graduates. Grace Marie Smith offered the introductory address, and the commencement address was by Anna Latell.
The group travelled about 40 minutes from their school to Immokalee, a short physical distance but the retreat was a long spiritual journey that surprised many in how deeply it impacted them.
The service trip was organized and led by Sisters April Hoffman and April Cabaccang, Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, both of whom are on the faculty at St. John Neumann. To start the week, they prayed each student would gain a renewed sense of Christian Service from their experience. The theme for the week was based on a Gospel quote from 1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you should use that gift you have to serve others.”
Some admitted to participating in the retreat to earn service hours or because a friend was participating. But then, something changed. As the week progressed, the teens began to grow as Christians, shining the light of Christ in the community while also finding the face of the Lord in all whom they encountered.
Each day included evening Mass celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish by Father Inna (Ignatius) Reddy Yeruva, Missionary of Compassion, who works with Catholic Charities.
For example, when some of the students were assigned to count beans at the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen of Catholic Charities, the task seemed pointless, but the youth quickly learned that it was important to sort through the beans to ensure proper portion sizes and their helping lessened the work of the only paid employee of the Soup Kitchen.
Donahue Principal Dr. Daniel Guernsey opened the procession of graduates before the Mass, celebrated at Ave Maria Parish, by playing the bagpipes, a tradition he does each year.
Following Mass, the festivities moved to the nearby school, with the graduation taking place in the gymnasium. In addition to family, students from the upper grades were present for the presentation of diplomas. Catherine Graham was the class Valedictorian and Winston Fairchild was the Salutatorian, both of whom were National Merit Scholarship Finalists.
The honor recognizes exceptional high school students for their Model UN accomplishments at conferences as delegates and/or for their leadership within their Model UN organizations. Students were nominated by their faculty advisors or peers from around the world, and selected by a BestDelegate.com editorial panel. Students could be recognized for both categories. Hunter was one of 23 named Best High School Model UN Delegate out of the more than 3,700 worldwide. His nomination read in part:
More than 30 people took part in the national “America Needs Fatima Rosary Rally” on June 4, 2022, in Fort Myers. The Rally was held at the corner of Daniels Parkway and Daniels Commerce Boulevard, and was focused on the Traditional Family and Public Prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to end abortion, and. The threat of rain kept some away as the region was under a Tropical Storm Warning at the time. Rally organizer Toni Holmlund said the weather cooperated and most of the drivers passing by were supportive.
St. Mary Academy won the Family Living Magazine’s Reader’s Choice 2022 award for Best Special Education School in the area! Parents with special needs children often find that a typical classroom setting isn’t ideal for their child. They may have tried the traditional classroom setting only to have their child struggle and fall behind academically. Now, imagine finding that perfect school, one that meets your child’s particular needs. From the moment you visit the secure campus, you realize St. Mary Academy is a very unique environment. To learn more about St. Mary Academy, please visit 
Totus Tuus (a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours”) is a summer Catholic youth camp program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness and Eucharistic worship. The weeklong Parish summer catechetical camp program assists parents and parishes in evangelizing and catechizing youth by complementing the work they are already doing at the parish and at home. This summer the program will be offered at eight parishes in the Diocese of Venice. The camp program is for grades 1-5 Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for grades 6-12 Monday to Thursday from 7:30 p.m.to 9:45 p.m. Parishes hosting the program in the coming weeks are as follows:
One only has to see how Hurricane Agatha, a storm that formed in the Pacific Ocean, slammed the Mexican coastline during Memorial Day Weekend before crossing and heading into the Gulf of Mexico just in time for the official opening of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
“As we reflect on another potentially busy hurricane season, past storms — such as Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the New York metro area ten years ago — remind us that the impact of one storm can be felt for years,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D.
Bella Rogers, Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School Class of 2021, took the required HOPE class with teacher Susan Powell during her freshman year. In the class, Powell went above and beyond to teach CPR techniques in addition to the required curriculum.
