The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is a day we celebrate when the Blessed Virgin Mary said “Yes!” to God.
Celebrated on March 25, 2022, the Solemnity marks the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38), and his announcement that the Blessed Virgin has been chosen to be the Mother of Our Lord, and Mary’s willing acceptance of God’s Holy Plan.
To mark this Solemnity, Ave Maria Parish, Ave Maria University, as well as the entire town took part in various activities throughout the day.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane presided at the inauguration of the new Ave Maria University President Mark Middendorf, and was the principal celebrant for a Solemnity Mass.
Other events incorporated into the day included the Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, an outdoor barbecue dinner, concert and fireworks.
Bishop Dewane said during the Mass that the faithful should learn from the example of Mary and apply Her willingness to be open to the call of the Lord in our own lives; as it is inspiring to know the Blessed Virgin Mary had the courage to say “yes.”
“Take the grace that the Lord gives each of us, and live it and go forward,” the Bishop continued. “We learn the important lesson that ‘nothing will be impossible for God.’ Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her’ (Luke 1:37-38). Without God, we cannot fulfill His Mission. Our Lady understood that, so must each one of us. We have to radically change our inner selves and have that same strength to do the will of the Lord.”
President inauguration
As part of the inauguration of Middendorf as the fourth President of Ave Maria University, Bishop Dewane presided over the Oath of Fidelity and Profession of Faith.
Following the Oath of Fidelity and Profession of Faith, an Investiture Ceremony took place wherein Middendorf was bestowed with the Seal of the Office of the President of Ave Maria University by Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick Rainey. Prior to this, Father David Vidal, Pastor of Ave Maria Parish, and others representing the students, faculty, alumni and Board of Trustees, spoke highly of the appointment of Middendorf as the new President of the University.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Middendorf was educated at Northern Illinois University and DePaul University and had a successful corporate marketing and management career before discerning a special call to the New Evangelization. Middendorf founded a lay apostolate, Lighthouse Catholic Media (LCM), then the largest producer of Catholic audio talks in the world, reaching millions. Upon its merger with the Augustine Institute in 2015, Middendorf became the Institute’s Executive Vice President for Mission Expansion, and led the launch of formed.org platform. Middendorf also serves on the boards of 5 Stones, Ignatius Press, and the Marian Missionaries of Divine Mercy, and has been a long-standing member of Legatus.
Middendorf and his wife, Christine, are the parents of four children, one already a graduate of Ave Maria University and another currently enrolled.
When asked what his first priority would be as University President, Middendorf stated that he will be inviting all staff, students, and friends of Ave Maria to join him in entrusting themselves and the University to the care of our Immaculate Mother. He then added, “The University belongs to her. It has her name on it. As President, I see this as foundational.”
Both saints are celebrated in particular ways in mid-March, with the Feast Day of St. Patrick celebrated on March 17 and the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19. During that week, Parishes and schools throughout the Diocese of Venice held a variety of celebrations in honor of each saint.
A St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Naples featured participation from each Catholic School in Collier County. Other schools in the Diocese held Leprechaun Days and other fun events to honor the Irish saint who is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity.
Epiphany Cathedral in Venice hosted a Mass for the Solemnity of St. Joseph which was celebrated in Italian and included the active involvement of the Italian-American Club of Venice. Following the March 18, 2022 Mass, the statue of St. Joseph was carried to the Parish Hall in a procession led by the Knights of Columbus. There, Msgr. Patrick Dubois, Cathedral Rector, blessed the traditional St. Joseph’s table of bread and sweets, which was later distributed.
St. Columbkille Parish in Fort Myers got into the spirit of both Feast Days, first with a St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance and then an Italia Festa two days later. While the favored colors representing the two saints differed (green for St. Patrick and red and white for St. Joseph), both gatherings involved lots of tasty food, ethnic music and fun.
Incarnation Parish in Sarasota was host to the first ever Diocese of Venice Santo Niño Festival on Jan. 16, 2022. Organized by the local Filipino Catholic Community and the Couples for Christ group, more than 250 people participated in the Mass and Festival which recounts an important conversion story.
Conflict in the region soon followed during which Magellan was killed and his Spanish colleagues left. The next Spanish expedition occurred in 1565 by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi who conquered Cebu and after pillaging the villages, the original Magellan Santo Niño was found safe and unscathed from the fires. The Franciscan Friars who witnessed this proclaimed the statue miraculous and built a church on the site, which is now the “Basílica Menor del Santo Niño in Cebu.”
It was explained that this Feast Day celebration reminds Filipinos of the Christianization of their homeland but also enables them to see the relevance this devotion to the Santo Niño has for people to this day. It forces us to focus on the children and youth, with all the problems they may pose and the hopes they raise.
Faithful people from throughout the Diocese of Venice attended the Mass which was celebrated by Most Rev. Pierre-André Dumas, Bishop of the Diocese of Anse-a-Veau and Miragoane, with Bishop Frank J. Dewane concelebrating. There were several additional priests from the Diocese of Venice who also concelebrated.
In a gesture of gratitude toward Bishop Dewane, Bishop Dumas noted that the Haitian Catholic Community within the Diocese of Venice is in good and capable hands and thanked Bishop Dewane for his support.
For the Haitian community, Jan. 1 is both a spiritual day, and an emotional day commemorating such an important day in their homeland. The Haitians defeated the largest and most powerful army at the time, the army of Napoleon, in Cap-Haitien, and Haiti became the second country in the Americas to declare its Independence on Jan. 1, 1804.
The 2021 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass times for Parishes throughout the Diocese of Venice can be found on the Diocese of Venice homepage at https://dioceseofvenice.org/2021-diocesan-parish-christmas-mass-times/. The listings are in alphabetical order by the city the Parish is located. For details on youth choirs or musical accompaniment, please contact the Parish via the phone number or website listed for further information.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most revered patronesses within the Catholic Faith, and this is particularly so in the Hispanic community. The Feast Day, Dec. 12, is often described as all other holidays wrapped up into one.
The Blessed Virgin instructed St. Juan Diego to gather the Castilian roses that he found blooming on the hillside, despite the fact that it was winter, and present them to the Spanish Bishop. St. Juan Diego filled his cloak – known as a tilma – with the flowers. When he presented them to the Bishop and the roses spilled upon the floor, an image of Our Lady was miraculously imprinted upon his tilma. Nearly 500 years later, Diego’s tilma with the miraculous image is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and visited by millions of pilgrims each year.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane led the celebration at St. Paul Parish in Arcadia, where he had dedicated the new Parish Church on March 21. This Mass brought together a massive crowd which was followed by an 1/3-mile procession to an outdoor festival that lasted into the night.
Explaining how Advent is about anticipating the second coming of Christ, the Bishop stressed the need to hold Jesus in our hearts. He remarked how strongly he could see that in the faithful of St. Paul Parish as evidence by their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and to Her Son.
St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Naples served as host for a combined celebration with the Hispanic faithful of St. Agnes Parish. Father Carlos Encinas was the celebrant and serves the Spanish-speaking population of both communities. The Mass was the largest in the history with an estimated 1,500 participating. Following Mass, youth participated in a play which retold the story of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady, something which takes place at many Parish celebrations. Outside, Aztec dancers performed under the lights in the parking lot while a festival of food took place.
Jesus the Worker Parish in Fort Myers had two shrines to Our Lady. One was in the main church, below the permanent Our Lady of Guadalupe image on the wall, left of the altar. There, the faithful placed hundreds of flowers and other religious articles. A temporary shrine was constructed outside. The celebration began with singing in the church and continued overnight and into the next day.
Meanwhile, St. Michael Parish in Wauchula decided to host a carnival/trick-or-treat event in the field behind the Parish. Children dressed as priests, angels and a variety of superheroes and other characters each had to complete a carnival game to receive candy. One game had children try to identify images of saints with only a small hint to help. All the candy was donated by the faithful at St. Raphael Parish in Englewood.
Pope Francis said true happiness does not come from being young, rich, or successful, as the world thinks, but from the counter-cultural idea to follow Jesus Christ. The Holy Father made his remarks during a special Angelus address for the Solemnity of All Saints, celebrated by the Catholic Church on Nov. 1, 2021. This year the obligation to attend Mass was abrogated in the United States because the Solemnity fell on a Monday.
Bishop Dewane praised the Knights and Dames for their commitment to the protection of the Holy Land and for having the courage to stand up as examples of men and women of faith who through their thoughts and hearts commit to service in response to the call of the Lord.
“We find throughout Scriptures that persistence and perseverance is necessary for each of us in our prayer life,” said Bishop Dewane on Oct. 7, 2021, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. “Many pray the rosary every day and it has become an integral part of your life. A devotion to Our Lady through the rosary provides strength, drawing us closer to the Lord.”
This is why we meditate on the Mysteries and on the prayers, Bishop Dewane explained. “By doing so you become part of this history. Our Lady calls us to prayer and to acknowledge her Son. You do this by being the instruments of the Lord and calling others to come forth. Miracles will happen within us and within those around us because of our prayers and communications with the Lord.”
At Jesus the Worker Parish in Fort Myers, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is cause for celebration, as Our Lady is Patroness of Guatemala. A Mass was celebrated on Oct. 7 and a parish-wide celebration took place on Oct. 10 with a large procession through the Parish parking lot leading into Mass. The Mass was followed by festivities outside with food and music celebrating the Guatemalan culture all in honor of Our Lady.
Father Jan Antonik, Parish Administrator, told a large gathering how honored and blessed the Parish was to have a First-Class Relic of St. Thérèse, something he strived to acquire since his appointment in early 2020. The relic was gifted to the Parish courtesy of Father Bob Kantor, Pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Naples, where it had been on display in the St. Agnes Adoration Chapel for many years. Bishop Frank J. Dewane approved and facilitated the transfer of the relic between the two Parishes
St. Thérèse was a Carmelite nun who was born in 1873. She entered a cloistered life at the age of 15, living in near obscurity at a convent in Lisieux, France and died at the age of 24. She was canonized in 1925 and in 1997 St. John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church in light of holiness and the influence of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.
Following Mass, single roses were distributed for the faithful to give to others as a “little way” of spreading the Love of Christ to others. Many also paused to view the relic and/or light a candle. A reception was held as part of the Feast Day celebration.
