Mass to Open Diocesan Phase of Synod
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.
Bishop meets Pope Francis
Bishop Frank J. Dewane had the opportunity to greet and meet with Pope Francis following the General Audience in the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall on Sept. 29, 2021. Bishop Dewane spoke briefly with the Holy Father who in return asked about what is taking place in the Diocese of Venice. The Bishop was in Rome to witness the Ordination to the Transitional Diaconate of Diocesan Seminarian Christian Chami on Sept. 30, 2021.
Ministry of Acolyte conferred on Seminarian
Diocese of Venice Seminarian Jacob Gwynn was conferred to the Ministry of Acolyte on Sept. 26, 2021 at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. The principal celebrant for the Mass was Bishop Luis R. Zarama of the Diocese of Raleigh. As an Acolyte, Gwynn is now charged with assisting at the celebration of the Eucharist, purifying the sacred vessels and, when needed, to assist with the distribution of Holy Communion. As part of the Rite, the Bishop placed the paten, which contains the hosts for the celebration of Mass, in the hands of the candidate. He then said, “…take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church.”
Blessing of the Animals
Many Diocesan Parishes and Schools hosted a Blessing of the Animals to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, 2021. While many Parishes hosted the blessings during the preceding weekend, schools opted to either have the blessing before school or prior to the end of the day. The variety of animals was immense, from horses to hamsters, parrots to rabbits as well as nearly every assortment of dog and cat imaginable. It was evident that these creatures were well loved and an important part of each family.
Rosary making educates children
Kindergarten and first graders at St. Mary Catholic Academy in Sarasota used part of religion class on Sept. 29, 2021 to make rosaries. It was at that time the students learned how October is the month of the Holy Rosary and both October and May are months in which we give special honor to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The Mass was celebrated on the Feast Day of St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Poor Clare Order and a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Poor Clare Nuns are a religious community of women begun 800 years ago when Clare Offreduccio, a young noble woman of Assisi, Italy, cast off her rich garments and donned the simple garb of St. Francis to live as he did the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The San Damiano Monastery is located on the same property as Ascension Parish on Fort Myers Beach which that have called their home since 1988. The Monastery became independent in 2009. Although the Sisters never solicit donations, many parishioners bring them groceries and send them money each month. There is a daily Mass which is open to the public.
Every day, Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice serves the most vulnerable population by feeding, housing, empowering, and striving to help those in need. This summer, you can leave your footprint by helping your neighbors. The Catholic Charities Summertime and the Giving is Easy Appeal is asking for your support. Donate to your choice of assistance, such as food, shelter, education or other support. The giving is easy! Your gift will make a positive impact on our less fortunate brothers and sisters! Please visit 
Therefore, Bishop Frank J. Dewane marked the Solemnity of St. Joseph, March 19, 2021, with a Mass in Bradenton at the Catholic school named for the Saint.
Father John Belmonte, SJ, Superintendent of Diocese Catholic Education, said the Diocesan consecration and “Year of St. Joseph” provided the ideal platform to introduce the devotion and to strengthen Catholic culture in each of the Diocesan schools.
An art contest was incorporated into the St. Joseph Devotional Project, which Father Belmonte noted had more than 500 entries and ultimately six winners. The students were asked to express their idea of who St. Joseph was according to his respective titles – Protector of the Universal Church, foster father of Christ, Most Chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and many others.
On the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Bishop Dewane also celebrated Mass at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The Mass was celebrated in Italian and was organized by the Italian American Club of Venice and is an annual tradition.
In the midst of ongoing impacts during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Pope Francis reminds us that it is “a favorable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity.”
On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments has provided guidance on the distribution of ashes amid the Pandemic. Ashes will be sprinkled on the top of the head of the faithful, rather than applying a cross on their foreheads which necessitates contact. The formula will be said only once, at the beginning of the distribution, applying it to all in general: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Following this, the guidance states that the Priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come forward. The Priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one in silence.
This procession took place on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Jan. 3, 2021), with Bishop Frank J. Dewane carrying the monstrance, and served as the opening of two days of celebrations in honor of the Feast Day of St. Elizabeth Seton on Jan. 4, 2021.
“The Lord called her through different moments of her life and despite many hardships which could have turned her attention away she didn’t forget about the call of the Lord,” the Bishop said. “Just as the three kings followed a star at the Epiphany, she followed a star and once she received the gift of Faith, it was Christ and the Lord who brought her through the stages in her life to ever more profoundly encounter Him. As St. Elizabeth Seton did, we must open ourselves up to be accessible for an encounter with the Lord.”
St. Elizabeth Seton was born before the American Revolution and grew up in New York as part of a prominent Episcopalian family. She married in 1794 and had five children. Discovering Catholicism while in Italy, where her husband died, she eventually returned to the U.S. and entered the Catholic Church in 1805. Later, she moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she entered religious life and founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the U.S. She also began the first free Catholic girl’s school in the country, which formed the foundation for the modern Catholic education system. She died in 1821 and was canonized on Sept. 14, 1975.
“This Mass is a big thing for me,” said the Immokalee resident who traveled to Bonita Springs to celebrate Mass with fellow emigrees of the Caribbean nation. “I took off work six months ago to be able to attend this. I cannot miss this Mass.”
But precautions against the coronavirus meant a visiting prelate could not travel and buses could not be used to bring in Haitians from cities throughout the 10-county diocese. Yet, Father Jean-Marie Fritz Ligonde, director of Haitian Ministry for the Diocese of Venice and parochial vicar of St. Columbkille Parish in Fort Myers, said the community was blessed to still have the opportunity to celebrate the special day. As he does every year, Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated the Mass with Father Ligonde, and five other Haitian priests of the diocese. The precautions might have made the crowd gathered much smaller, but the spirit of the Mass was just as joyous and enthusiastic.
In his homily, Father Ligonde compared the Marian feast celebrated to Haiti’s Independence Day. The Solemnity of Mary, mother of God, is the first Marian feast, and Haiti is the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere when the slaves there gained independence from France Jan. 1, 1804. Haitians should find strength in Mary’s example to go forward because Mary, even she suffered and exiled while carrying Jesus.
The Mass ended with the congregation waving Haitian flags and singing their country’s national anthem — “La Dessalinienne,” named in honor of Haiti’s revolutionary leader and first ruler Jean-Jacques Dessalines. It begins, “For the country, For the ancestors, Let us march. Let us march united.”
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.
St. Jude Pastor, Father Celestino Gutierrez, said the celebration of the Patroness of Cuba was toned-down this year because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, the faith of the people was not diminished.
Diaz prayed for “protection and comfort,” during these turbulent times of pandemic and economic difficulties. “It’s what my family used to pray for before they left Cuba many years ago, and what we still all pray for. Our Lady is always there for us.”
Devotion to the Mary under the title of Our Lady of Charity dates to 1612 when two indigenous laborers and a slave boy were on a boat in a fierce storm when they sought the protection of Mary. The storm suddenly calmed and then in the distance they spotted a white bundle floating on a piece of wood. It was a small statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus on her left arm and a gold cross on her raised right hand. Inscribed on the wooden board were the words, “Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad” (“I am Our Lady of Charity”). Despite being found in the water after a storm, the white material in which the statue was wrapped in remained completely dry.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane expressed his profound gratitude to the Poor Clare Sisters for their response to God while remarking how the ongoing global pandemic has forced many into isolation, which he prays has encouraged the faithful to use that time growing closer to the Lord.
