Tag: ordination

News briefs for the week of Aug. 14, 2026

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Music from Episcopal Ordination

Relive or hear for the first time the beautiful music of the Episcopal Ordination Mass! The New Shepherd: Lighting the Lantern is a music playlist from the Mass and includes a recording of the Mass Homily by His Eminence Seán Cardinal O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Please share!

Assumption – Aug. 15

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Aug. 15, 2026, is not a holy day of obligation this year because it falls on a Saturday. On this day the Church acknowledges and celebrates the fact that Mary, the Mother of God, was assumed into Heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life. “The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body” (CCC 974).

Death penalty prayer vigil Aug. 18

Please join us at San Pedro Parish, 14380 Tamiami Trail, North Port, in the Chapel at 5:15 p.m., Aug. 18, 2026, for a Prayer Vigil to pray for the end of the death penalty in Florida. We pray for everyone involved in the execution process; the doctor administering the execution, all of the witnesses, a conversion of the condemned, the victims and their families. The vigil will coincide with the scheduled execution of William Silvia, who is set to become the 13th person executed in Florida this year. The vigil lasts less than an hour and includes hymns, a Gospel reading, reflections, intercessions, and a praying of the Rosary. A pause will take place at 6 p.m., the time Florida executions take place. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Parish Marriage Retreat Aug. 22

Ave Maria Parish invites all married couples to the Annual Marriage Retreat, Aug. 22, 2026, at Ave Maria Catholic Academy, 4955 Seton Way, Ave Maria, for a special day dedicated to strengthening marriages through faith, prayer, and fellowship. The retreat is from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and will be led by Father Leandro Fernandez. The cost is $125 per couple, which includes breakfast and lunch. Childcare is available for $15 per child. Register HERE.

Young Adult Retreat Sept. 13, 2026

The Diocese of Venice is hosting a young adult retreat 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sept. 13, 2026, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center, 3989 South Moon Drive, Venice. DISCERN: “Hearing God’s Voice in Everyday Life” will be led by Mother Nikopoia, SSVM. Learn how to recognize God’s voice in the middle of everyday life. Come for a day dedicated to prayer, reflection, and learning how to discover God’s will. Registration fee of $35 per person includes morning coffee and pastries, lunch and retreat materials. Contact Andres Prias, prias@dioceseofvenice.org, or 941-441-1122. for more information.

Thank and honor our priests

Priesthood Sunday is September 27, 2026. What is “Priesthood Sunday?” Priesthood Sunday is a special day set aside to honor the priesthood. It is a day to reflect upon and affirm the role of the priesthood in the life of the Church. In the Diocese of Venice, the Venice Diocesan Council of Catholic Women offer a unique opportunity to all to honor your priest, and to support our future priests, on this special day. Simply send a donation of any amount, along with the name of your priest, and the VDCCW will send a note to your priest letting him know he has been honored by you, and that a donation (undisclosed amount) has been made to the Diocesan Seminarian Fund to support future priests, in his name. Send your donation today to Cornelia Zanetti, Seminarian Fund Guardian, 5808 Gulf Drive, #204, Holmes Beach, FL 34217. Please make checks payable to the VDCCW Seminarian Fund. Thank you!

Pennies for Babies!

The Pennies for Babies Fund is a Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice initiative that supports pregnant mothers and their newborn babies in need. It is part of the Diocese’s widespread Walking with Moms in Need program. The fund raises money to provide critical assistance to expectant mothers and newborns. If you wish to help mothers and babies in need, please consider giving to the Pennies for Babies Fund. Send checks (not cash) to Catholic Charities Pennies for Babies Fund, 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285. With questions, please contact Tavia Ames, ames@dioceseofvenice.org, 941-441-1101.

Save the Date!

Preparations have begun for the annual Diocese of Venice Eucharistic Rosary Congress, October 3-9, 2026. This year’s theme is My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. At Parishes throughout the Diocese, the Eucharistic Rosary Congress will unfold slightly differently but usually will begin with the celebration of daily Mass and end with Mass at the same time the next day; in the 24 hours between the two Masses, there is perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, with the five decades of the Rosary being prayed every hour. Many parishes will also have the Sacrament of Penance available at different points throughout the schedule. The goal is that each parish participates according to their particular circumstances and that the Holy Eucharist is being adored and the Rosary prayed every hour of every day, somewhere in the Diocese of Venice, from October 3-9. This abundance of prayer will undoubtedly draw down from the Lord many graces upon our families, the Diocese, the Church Universal, the nation, and the world. More information will be available soon, including a list of participating parishes. 

Save the Date!

Married and engaged couples are invited to the sixth annual Together in Holiness Marriage Conference on Oct. 24, 2026, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Light Parish in Fort Myers. Spend quality time with your spouse, hear from dynamic national and local speakers, and enhance your marriage through the Sacraments. Registration: $64/couple and $5/child for on-site childcare. An Early Bird discount is available through September 14 as well as scholarships upon request. This conference is presented by the Diocese of Venice and the St. John Paul II Foundation. To register, visit www.forlifeandfamily.org/events/th26-vnfl/ With questions, contact Jim Gontis, gontis@dioceseofvenice.org.

Holiday Bereavement Outreach Retreats

Those grieving the loss of a loved one are invited to “There Is Hope: Coping with the Death of a Loved One During the Holidays”, a Catholic bereavement retreat led by Deacon Henry deMena and offered at four locations throughout the Diocese of Venice on Nov. 3-6, 2026. All retreats are from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the following parishes: Nov. 3, Our Lady of Lourdes, Venice; Nov. 4, Sacred Heart, Punta Gorda; Nov. 5, St. Paul, Arcadia; Nov. 6, St. Agnes, Naples. For more information, please contact Jim Gontis at 941-486-4754.

Catholic Charities summer appeal continues

Every day, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, serves the most vulnerable population in the Diocese’s 10 counties by feeding, housing, empowering, and helping all in need. This summer, you can be the one that makes a difference. Your acts of kindness have the power to transform lives. The Catholic Charities “Summertime and the Giving is Easy” appeal needs your support. The giving is easy! To donate, visit Summertime Giving, or mail a check to Catholic Charities, “Summertime and the Giving is Easy,” 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285. If you have any questions, please call 941-488-5581. The appeal continues through August.

Pray for Safety! Hurricane Season

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season continues through November 30. With a history of these storms producing destruction in the region, please pray for safety. To view or download a Prayer for Safety in Hurricane Season in English or Spanish languages, visit the Diocese of Venice website.

Volunteers needed for Prison Outreach

Join the team of Diocesan volunteers who enter county jails and state prisons within the 10-county Diocese of Venice to do pastoral outreach, distribute the Eucharist and facilitate programs. Priests, Deacons, and lay volunteers are encouraged to assist in this ministry. Volunteers will first participate in an orientation program before entering the facility and will shadow experienced volunteers until they feel comfortable. Times and days vary by facility. Please contact Joe Mallof at 224-217-7139 or Bob Hiniker 863-558-0407 to learn where you can fit into this joyful opportunity.

Support After Abortion help available

Are you or someone you know struggling because of a past abortion? You are not alone. Healing retreats and support are available for anyone who has experienced an abortion, including mothers, fathers and other family members who have been hurt. For help, or to learn more about the Diocese of Venice support after abortion program, Project Rachel, simply call or text 941-412-5860, or email project.rachel@dioceseofvenice.org, in English or Spanish. All contacts are confidential.

OLPH seeks volunteers

Many hands make light work. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice is seeking volunteers. Aid the Diocesan retreat center in providing a peaceful, welcoming atmosphere for those who come seeking transformation in Christ. Areas of need include: gardening, dishwashing, dining room, answering the phones and more. For more information, or to sign-up, please call 941-486-0233, or email info@olph-retreat.org.

News briefs for the week of July 31, 2026

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Appointments

After consultation, Bishop Frank J. Dewane announced the following appointments:
Father Robert G. Mulligan, OSFS, is relieved of his duties as administrator of St. Ann Parish in Naples, effective July 1, 2026, and thus will return to his religious community.
Father Cory A. Mayer is appointed as administrator of St. Ann Parish in Naples, effective July 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Grove City.
Father Krzysztof Piotrowski is appointed as administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Grove City, effective July 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.
Father Paul Dechant, OSFS, is relieved of his duties as pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Fort Myers, effective July 1, 2026, and thus will return to his religious community.
Father Michal Szyszka is appointed as administrator of St. Cecilia Parish in Fort Myers, effective July 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as pastor of St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres.
Father Christian Chami is appointed as administrator of St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres, effective July 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar of St. Jude Parish in Sarasota.

Father Russell Wright is appointed as administrator of Sacred Heart Parish in Punta Gorda, effective July 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar of Church of St. Patrick Parish in Sarasota.

Father Francis Hanlon, OSFS, is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar of St. Cecilia Parish in Fort Myers, effective July 1, 2026, and thus will return to his religious community.
Father Reji Joseph, OSFS, is relieved of his duties as Parochial Vicar of St. Ann Parish in Naples, effective July 1, 2026, and thus has returned to his religious community.

Father Joseph Doherty, as parochial vicar of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, effective July 8, 2026, as he has returned from his Licentiate Studies in Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Father Nicholas Eichman, FSSP, is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar of Christ the King in Sarasota, effective July 1, 2026, and thus has returned to his religious community.
Father Andrew Daniels, FSSP, is appointed as parochial vicar of Christ the King Parish in Sarasota, effective July 6, 2026.
Father Joseph Duffy, FSSP, is relieved of his duties as parochial vicar of Corpus Christi Chapel in Naples, effective July 1, 2026, and thus has returned to his religious community.
Father Peter O’Connor, FSSP, is appointed as parochial vicar of Corpus Christi Chapel in Naples, effective July 8, 2026.

Welcome to our new shepherd, Bishop Emilio!

Thank you to all who joined and prayed with the Diocese of Venice during the Bishop Emilio’s Ordination weekend, either in person or via livestream. Recordings of the livestreams from both Solemn Vespers and the Ordination and Installation Mass can be accessed here. Bishop Emilio’s remarks after Mass are also available at the same link. More information about our new bishop can be found on the Diocese’s website.

 

Pennies for Babies!

The Pennies for Babies Fund is a Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice initiative that supports pregnant mothers and their newborn babies in need. It is part of the Diocese’s broader Walking with Moms in Need program. The fund raises money to provide material needs for expectant mothers and newborns, such as maternity and baby clothes, diapers and other essentials. If you wish to help pregnant women in need, please consider giving to the Pennies for Babies Fund. Send checks (not cash) to Catholic Charities Pennies for Babies Fund, 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285. With questions, please contact Tavia Ames, ames@dioceseofvenice.org, 941-441-1101.

Natural Family Planning Awareness

As Catholics, we are called to responsibility in our parenthood, considering first what God asks of us, what is good for us as a couple, our family and society in general. The only viable alternative to artificial birth control, Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a safe, natural means to conform a couple’s fertility in accordance with God’s plan. Learn more about Natural Family Planning! Several upcoming Natural Family Planning Educational Opportunities are coming up. St. Gianna’s Center for Women’s Health & Fertility Care offers excellent introductory educational sessions online for free. Upcoming sessions begin as early as Aug. 8, 2026. Register for the Zoom sessions here. With questions, call 813-421-4625, or email the St. Gianna Center or, at the Diocese of Venice, Jim Gontis, gontis@dioceseofvenice.org 941-486-4754.

Save the Date!

Married and engaged couples are invited to the sixth annual Together in Holiness Marriage Conference on Oct. 24, 2026, from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Light Parish in Fort Myers. Spend quality time with your spouse, hear from dynamic national and local speakers, and rejuvenate your marriage through the Sacraments. Registration: $64/couple and $5/child for on-site childcare. An Early Bird discount is available through September 14 as well as scholarships upon request. This conference is presented by the Diocese of Venice and the St. John Paul II Foundation. To register, visit www.forlifeandfamily.org/events/th26-vnfl/ With questions, contact Jim Gontis, gontis@dioceseofvenice.org.

Theology on Tap in Sarasota Aug. 13

Calling all young adults! Join Catholic young people from across the Diocese for an evening of fellowship, faith and fun! Theology on Tap is an opportunity for young adults in their 20’s and 30’s to explore faith topics in a relaxed social setting. Theology on Tap meets on the third Thursday of every month at Oak & Stone, 5405 University Parkway, University Park. No need to register in advance. Next month, the group will meet on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, 7 p.m. Featured speaker is Father John Belmonte, SJ, Superintendent of Catholic Education for the Diocese of Venice. To learn more, contact Andres Prias, prias@dioceseofvenice.org 941-441-1122.

Catholic Charities summer appeal continues

Every day, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, serves the most vulnerable population in the Diocese’s 10 counties by feeding, housing, empowering, and helping all in need. This summer, you can be the one that makes a difference. Your acts of kindness have the power to transform lives. The Catholic Charities “Summertime and the Giving is Easy” appeal needs your support. The giving is easy! To donate to “Summertime and the Giving is Easy,” visit Summertime Giving, or mail a check to Catholic Charities, “Summertime and the Giving is Easy,” 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285. If you have any questions, please call 941-488-5581. The appeal continues through August.

Pray for Safety!  Hurricane Season

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season continues through November 30. With a history of these storms producing destruction in the region, Bishop Frank J. Dewane reminds us that we must pray for safety: “Let us all ask God for protection and safety and also pray for the people who continue to recover from previous disasters.” To view or download a Prayer for Safety in Hurricane Season in English or Spanish languages, visit the Diocese of Venice website.

The Rite of Ordination of a Bishop

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Promising to “guard the deposit of faith pure and entire” and to “encourage the holy people of God and to guide them in the way of salvation,” Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., was ordained to the Order of Bishops July 11, 2026, as the third bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida.

More than 1,700 witnessed the 2 ½ hour bilingual liturgy at St. John XXIII parish in Fort Myers included family and friends of the new bishop, the faithful from throughout the diocese, members of men’s and women’s religious orders, the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Color Corps of the Knights of Columbus, and many more.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami was the principal consecrator of the new bishop. Co-consecrators were Cardinal Sean O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop Emeritus of Boston, as well Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Venice.

The Rite of Episcopal Ordination during the Mass followed the proclamation of the Gospel according to John (21:1-19) where Jesus appears to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He cooks them breakfast, leads a miraculous catch of fish, and commissions Peter to lead His Church, foreshadowing Peter’s eventual martyrdom.

Present for the ordination were two cardinals, two archbishops, 17 bishops and more than 150 priests participating in the Mass, including Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, and Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The rite included the Presentation of the Elect, during which Bishop-Elect Emilio was led to the presence of Archbishop Wenski while Father Joseph Doherty, an assisting priest, addressed Archbishop Wenski, requesting the ordination.

Next was the reading of the Apostolic Letter by Archbishop Caccia, who said it was a great joy for him to be in the Diocese of Venice and assured the faithful of the spiritual closeness, affection and blessing of the Pope Leo XIV.

“This young and growing local church now receives the new shepherd whom the Lord, through the minister, the successor of Peter, entrusts to its care,” said Archbishop Caccia, also thanking Bishop Dewane for his 20 years of service in the diocese. The archbishop then described the path Bishop Emilio, as a Capuchin Franciscan, had taken to this point, serving in Papua New Guinea, Cuba, and Washington, D.C. “Through this varied path the Lord has formed in you a heart ready to go where he asks, close to the poor and marginalized and eager to draw people to Christ.”

Archbishop Caccia then read an English translation of the papal mandate in which Pope Leo appointed Bishop Emilio, which is inscribed in Latin.

The new bishop then processed through the church, showing the papal mandate to the Diocesan College of Consultors, the presbyterate of the Diocese of Venice, to the concelebrating bishops, the faithful and to his family.

Next, Bishop-elect Emilio stood before Archbishop Wenski, who questioned the bishop-elect concerning his resolve to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Bishop, known as the Promise of the Elect. The answers to the first eight questions were “I do” and to the last, “I do, with the help of God.” (See the Promise of the Elect below.)

The episcopal ordination of the new bishop included prayers, chanting of the Litany of Supplication, the laying on of hands and anointing with Sacred Chrism. The Litany of Supplication, during which Bishop-elect Emilio lay prostrate on the floor before the altar, included the addition of several saints which have inspired Bishop Emilio, including St. Anthony of Padua, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, St. John Neumann, St. Peter To Rot, St. Clare of Assisi and others.

As part of the episcopal ordination, Bishop Emilio received the symbols of his office – the Book of the Gospels, which represents his responsibility to preach “with all patience and sound teaching;” a ring, signifying his fidelity to the Church; a miter that represents the “unfading crown of glory” he will seek by serving Christ; and crozier (pastoral staff) representing his role as a spiritual shepherd.

After Communion, the new bishop walked through the church, holding his new shepherd’s staff and blessing his family, friends and the faithful of the Diocese of Venice who came to witness and celebrate the ordination and installation of their new bishop.

The Mass continued as usual with Bishop Emilio addressing the faithful at the conclusion.

A recording of the livestream of the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Emilio, as well as the Solemn Vespers, can be viewed online at https://dioceseofvenice.org/livestream.

The Promise of the Elect of Bishops

  1. Dear brother, do you resolve to carry out until death with the grace of the Holy Spirit the office entrusted to us by the Apostles and to be passed on to you through the laying on of our hands?
  2. Do you resolve to proclaim the Gospel of Christ faithfully and unfailingly?
  3. Do you resolve to guard the deposit of faith pure and entire according to the tradition preserved always and everywhere in the Church from the time of the Apostles?
  4. Do you resolve to build up the Body of Christ, his Church, and to remain in her unity, with the Order of Bishops, under the authority of the successor of the blessed Apostle Peter?
  5. Do you resolve to render obedience faithfully to the successor of the blessed Apostle Peter?
  6. Do you resolve, as a devoted father, to encourage the holy People of God and to guide them in the way of salvation together with the Priests and Deacons, your fellow ministers?
  7. Do you resolve, for the sake of the Lord’s name, to reach out in kindness and mercy to the poor, to strangers, and to all those in need?
  8. Do you resolve, as a good shepherd, to seek out the sheep who stray and to gather them into the Lord’s fold?
  9. Do you resolve to pray without ceasing to almighty God for his holy people and to carry out the office of High Priest without reproach?

The answers to the first 8 questions were “I do” and to the last, “I do, with the help of God.”

Bishop Emilio’s remarks after his ordination

Posted on by Bob Reddy

“Loving and Knowing”

Peace be with you.

I would like to begin this new time with words from the prayer of St. Francis before the Crucifix at San Damiano that has accompanied my vocation from before entering the Capuchins. It is a prayer of confidence and a prayer of searching:

“Most High, Glorious God, bring light to the darkness of our hearts,

give us right faith, convinced hope, perfect charity, wisdom and understand Lord,

that we might know and follow your holy and true command.”

With profound gratitude, I am keenly aware that the office of bishop is to be embraced under the passion, death and resurrection of the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, our Savior. I give thanks to Almighty God, whose providence has brought us together on this blessed day.

Your Excellency, Most Reverend Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabrielle Giordano Caccia, I express my filial gratitude to our Holy Father Pope Leo, for the confidence he has placed in me through this appointment. I am grateful for the kindness you have shown to our Bishop Emeritus Frank Dewane, to me, to my family and the care you have shown for our local church.

Your Excellency, our Metropolitan Archbishop Thomas Wenski, I offer heartfelt gratitude to you for Your leadership, wisdom, and fraternal support. You are a gift to the Church in Florida, and I look forward to working with you.

Your Eminence Cardinal Sean O’Malley who has honored us with his inspiring homily and the testimony of his life, our capuchin brothers of the Province of St. Augustine, my family and so many of our mutual friends have cherished your spiritual fatherhood for many years. Gracias de Corazon.

Your Eminence Cardinal Wilton Gregory, father and friend of the priests wherever he has served, thank you for kindness and leadership.

Our beloved Bishop Emeritus Frank Dewane, with particular affection, I thank you. For nearly two decades you have shepherded this Diocese with steadfast faith, pastoral charity, and unwavering commitment. I am grateful to receive from your hands this beautiful Diocese that is vibrant in faith, growing, and filled with the gifts of its people. I am thrilled to meet and support the 25 diocesan seminarians which you and Father Alex Pince have prayerfully accompanied. Please know of my deep respect, gratitude, and prayers for you as I continue to seek your counsel.

Bishop Emeritus Alvaro Beyra, of the Diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo, Cuba, thank you for making this sacrificial and even painful visit from Cuba to Florida. I have greatly benefited from serving in your Diocese for eight years, learning to generate clear ideas, maintaining a firm pastoral work ethic and seeking to live and work very close to the faithful.

Bishop Emeritus Felipe Estevez, of St. Augustin, Bishop Emeritus Ocatavio Cisnero of Brooklyn, New York, and Mons. Jose Felix Perez of La Habana and Matanzas, Cuba, thank you for being such intrepid disciples of our Venerable Fr. Felix Varela and living as faithful sons of Our Lady of Charity.

To my beloved parents, who celebrate 65 years of marriage, and to my family and friends: come visit southwest Florida and stay, “… so that where I am you also may be.”

My brother bishops, Capuchin brothers, priests, deacons, consecrated women and men, dear family and friends, and especially the faithful of this beloved Diocese of Venice.

As I have learned, the Diocese of Venice has a remarkable history that reaches back long before it was canonically established in 1984. There is evidence that men and women were present in this part of Florida at least 14,000 years ago. About 2,000 years before the European explorers appeared in the Gulf, most of this land was home to the Calusa people, whose remarkable civilization flourished along Florida’s southwest coast. History tells of their ingenuity, resilience, and deep knowledge of these waters. They engineered canals and established one of the most politically complex hunting and fishing societies in North America.

It was here, too, that some of the earliest encounters between the peoples of the Americas and Europe took place. Spanish explorers navigated these shores in the sixteenth century, and among them were Juan Ponce de Leon, Hernando De Soto and Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, whose efforts to establish missions reflected the Church’s earliest desire to proclaim the Gospel in this land. Those first encounters were marked by both hope and hardship, by courage and misunderstanding, reminding us that history is always a call to humility and to reconciliation.

In 2009, on the occasion marking the 25th anniversary of the Diocese of Venice, Bishop Dewane wrote:

“As we celebrate this momentous milestone, it is an opportune time to recall and reflect upon the many blessings which this young Diocese has received and give thanks. At the same time, we contemplate our continued growth and ever-promising future, for the greater glory of God.”

On May 13th, a few weeks ago, when I was presented as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Venice, I observed how Bishop Dewane introduced me with such kindness and joy to so many of his coworkers. I found myself identifying with him. One day too, I will do the same, to another new shepherd of the Diocese. It was a realistic reminder that Jesus Christ alone is the Good Shepherd, and we are blessed to be entrusted, for a time, with the care of His flock.

St. Augustine wrote:

“Let those who feed Christ’s sheep not seek their own interests, but the interests of Jesus Christ. Let them not say, ‘These are my sheep,’ but ‘Christ’s sheep.’ Let them feed them as Christ’s sheep, not as their own” (Sermon 46, 30).

This is the vocation of every shepherd in the Church: to love Christ’s people, to care for them with tenderness, to strengthen the weak, to seek the lost, to accompany the suffering whether wealthy or whether poor, to proclaim the Gospel faithfully, and always place the good of the flock above personal interests.

The shepherd belongs to the people, and together shepherd and flock, belong to Christ.

To my dear friends and parishioners at Sacred Heart in Washington, to my dear friends from Cuba, and as far away as the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, in gratitude, I share this profound message of FAITH & HOPE from Mons. Adolfo Rodriguez Herrera, in the inaugural discourse of the ENEC in February 1986:

“…no tenemos ni la primera palabra ni la última palabra de todo, pero creemos que existe una primera y una última palabra de todo y esperamos en Aquel que la tiene, el Señor. En El miramos con serena confianza el futuro siempre incierto, porque sabemos que mañana, antes de que salga el sol, habrá salido sobre Cuba y sobre el mundo entero, la Providencia de Dios.”

“… we have neither the first word nor the last word on anything, but we believe that there is a first and a last word on everything, and we hope in the ONE who has it, the Lord. In him we look with serene confidence at the always uncertain future, because we know that tomorrow, before the sun rises, the Providence of God will have risen over Cuba and over the whole world.”

To our beloved priests, deacons, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Venice, as your new bishop, I will study and research everything I can about our Diocese. I will begin to know you and pledge to love and respect you, so that I may know you more deeply.

That LOVE IS, ITSELF, A MODE OF KNOWING, and that we come to know more deeply through love than through conceptual knowledge has a long and rich tradition in Catholic spiritual theology.

Saint Bonaventure (1221–1274) wrote:

“Seek not understanding that you may believe, but believe that you may understand… Ask grace, not instruction; desire, not understanding; the groaning of prayer, not diligent reading; the bridegroom, not the teacher.” (Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, VII, 6).

The great Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) also distinguished between knowledge acquired by study only, and a deeper knowledge that comes through love and connaturality, that is, through sharing in the reality known. He applied this especially to the gift of wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. This means that we come to know divine things not only by reasoning but through charity that unites the soul to God. He wrote: “Charity causes friendship between man and God.” (Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 23, a. 1) Through friendship comes a kind of experiential knowledge unavailable to detached observation.

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) consistently taught that love is the means by which we truly come to know both God and others. In “The Dialogue,” St. Catherine writes that Christ told her: “It is by love that you come to know Me, for I am Love.” (The Dialogue, Treatise on Divine Providence.) and “The soul cannot live without love. She always wants to love something because love is the stuff she is made of.” (Dialogue, Chapter 51)

Although expressed differently, these Doctors of the Church converge on a remarkably consistent principle:

Love does not replace reason;

Love perfects reason by giving us a participation

in the one we desire to come to know.

 I ask now for your prayers and support as during the next six months, especially, I try to come to know you by visiting and loving you.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, and of all the saints, let us move forward together with confidence. May God bless each one of you, and may He bless our beloved Diocese for many years to come.

Official biography of Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap.

Posted on by Bob Reddy

See below for Spanish

Third Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida

Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., was born December 15, 1964, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Emilio Rodolfo Biosca and Maria del Carmen Agüero who were recent immigrants from Cuba. The third of seven children, his two older sisters were born in Cuba. He was baptized on Dec. 25, at St. Patrick’s Church in Pueblo, Colorado.

The family first resided in Pueblo, Colorado, then Kansas City, Missouri, where his father, already a practicing dentist in Cuba, worked and studied, graduating from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry. The family relocated near relatives in Virginia, where his father opened a practice. Bishop Emilio attended St. Anthony and St. Leo Catholic schools, and then Bishop O’Connell High School.

Bishop Emilio briefly studied at George Mason University then entered the Capuchin Franciscans in 1984 transferring to Borromeo College of Ohio in Wickliffe and earning a B.A. in philosophy in 1987. He made first profession of vows in Pittsburgh on July 16, 1988. He continued Capuchin Formation and theological studies at Oblate College in Washington D.C., making solemn vows on August 17, 1991, and earning an M.A. and M.Div. in theology.  He was ordained to the diaconate on May 1, 1993, and served at St. John the Evangelist in Center City Philadelphia.

On May 21, 1994, at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, he was ordained to the priesthood by then-Bishop Sean O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., volunteered and was sent to serve in the Capuchin mission in Papua New Guinea. From 1994 to 2004 he served predominantly the Kewa and Wiri speaking peoples in the Kagua, Ialibu and Pangia areas of the Southern Highlands and became fluent in Melanesian Tok Pisin. During this period, he worked closely with lay leaders and catechists. From 2002-2004 he served as the Director of Novices for the Capuchin Novitiate in Pangia.

In preparation for the mission in Cuba, Bishop Emilio returned to the United States in 2005 and studied at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at Catholic University in Washington, earning his STL degree (Licentiate in Sacred Theology), Magna Cum Laude.

In 2007, Bishop Emilio entered Cuba and served there for 12 years. He spent his first year in Havana, then three years as Pastor of La Pastora Parish in Santa Clara, and the last eight years on the eastern side of the country in the Diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo, where he was Pastor of La Purisima Concepcion de Manzanillo.

Bishop Emilio was appointed Pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, DC on March 1, 2019. The Shrine of the Sacred Heart has 5,000 families and is culturally diverse, offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in five languages each weekend (English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese).

For the Capuchin Franciscans of the Province of St. Augustine, Bishop Emilio was elected as Third Councilor in 2022, and then as Provincial Vicar, First Councilor in 2025. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Melanesian Tok Pisin.

 

El Obispo Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., nació el 15 de diciembre de 1964 en Colorado Springs, Colorado, hijo de Emilio Rodolfo Biosca y María del Carmen Agüero, quienes habían emigrado recientemente de Cuba. Es el tercero de siete hermanos; sus dos hermanas mayores nacieron en Cuba. Fue bautizado el 25 de diciembre en la iglesia de San Patricio, en Pueblo, Colorado.

La familia residió inicialmente en Pueblo, Colorado, y posteriormente en Kansas City, Misuri, donde su padre, quien ya ejercía la odontología en Cuba, trabajó y continuó sus estudios, graduándose en la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Misuri–Kansas City (UMKC). Más tarde, la familia se trasladó a Virginia, cerca de otros familiares, donde su padre abrió su consultorio dental. El Obispo Emilio cursó sus estudios en las escuelas católicas San Antonio y San León, y posteriormente en la Escuela Secundaria Bishop O’Connell.

El Obispo Emilio estudió brevemente en la Universidad George Mason antes de ingresar a los Frailes Menores Capuchinos en 1984. Posteriormente se trasladó al Borromeo College de Ohio, en Wickliffe, donde obtuvo el grado de Licenciado en Filosofía (B.A.) en 1987. Hizo su primera profesión de votos en Pittsburgh el 16 de julio de 1988. Continuó su formación capuchina y sus estudios teológicos en el Oblate College de Washington, D.C.  Hizo su profesión solemne el 17 de agosto de 1991 y obtuvo la Maestría en Teología y Maestría en Divinidad.  Fue ordenado diácono el 1 de mayo de 1993 y desempeñó su ministerio en la parroquia San Juan Evangelista, en Center City, Filadelfia.

El 21 de mayo de 1994, en el Santuario del Sagrado Corazón de Washington, fue ordenado sacerdote por el entonces obispo Sean O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap.  Se ofreció como voluntario para la misión capuchina en Papúa Nueva Guinea, a donde fue enviado. Entre 1994 y 2004 sirvió principalmente a los pueblos de habla kewa y wiri en las regiones de Kagua, Ialibu y Pangia, en la provincia de Southern Highlands, y llegó a dominar con fluidez el tok pisin melanesio. Durante ese período trabajó estrechamente con líderes laicos y catequistas. De 2002 a 2004 fue Director de Novicios del Noviciado Capuchino de Pangia.

Como preparación para la misión en Cuba, el Obispo Emilio regresó a los Estados Unidos en 2005 y realizó estudios en el Instituto Pontificio Juan Pablo II para Estudios sobre el Matrimonio y la Familia de la Universidad Católica de América, en Washington, donde obtuvo la Licenciatura en Sagrada Teología (S.T.L.) con la calificación de Magna Cum Laude.

En 2007, el Obispo Emilio inició su ministerio en Cuba, donde sirvió durante doce años. Pasó su primer año en La Habana; luego fue durante tres años párroco de la parroquia La Pastora, en Santa Clara; y los últimos ocho años ejerció su ministerio en el oriente del país, en la Diócesis de Bayamo-Manzanillo, como párroco de la parroquia La Purísima Concepción de Manzanillo.

El 1 de marzo de 2019, el Obispo Emilio fue nombrado párroco del Santuario del Sagrado Corazón, en Washington, D.C. El Santuario del Sagrado Corazón cuenta con aproximadamente 5,000 familias y se caracteriza por su diversidad cultural, celebrando cada fin de semana el Santo Sacrificio de la Misa en cinco idiomas: inglés, español, criollo haitiano, vietnamita y portugués.

En la Provincia de San Agustín de los Frailes Menores Capuchinos, el Obispo Emilio fue elegido Tercer Consejero Provincial en 2022 y, posteriormente, Vicario Provincial y Primer Consejero en 2025. Habla con fluidez inglés, español y tok pisin melanesio.

Growing up on a farm influenced Bishop’s future

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Editor’s note: This article, written by Heather Felton, appeared in the July 21, 2006, Special Welcome edition of The Florida Catholic. The story covers Bishop Dewane’s life prior to becoming the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice.

Heather Felton, Florida Catholic

While the Wisconsin-born man soon to become coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Venice has traveled to many exciting places, Bishop-designate Frank J. Dewane has always remained rooted in the appreciation for life, creatures and the many God-given gifts instilled in him by his parents.

Bishop-designate Dewane came from what is typically called “humble beginnings,” growing up on a dairy farm with cows, chickens, an occasional pig, and dogs and cats. His Irish-Catholic background made the local parish the center of the community, he said.

“Everything I learned growing up, it’s in that context of the boy on the farm who went to St. James, Cooperstown, to church,” he said. “We went to stations during Lent, we went to the rosary during May and October and the May crowning and the Feast of St. Isadore, the patron of farmers, for the big procession. This was just life; that was it.”

His life path led him through a career first with NBC in Moscow and a PepsiCo affiliate in New York City, before he embarked on his priestly vocation that took him even further from his Wisconsin roots. He was carried briefly to New York and the United Nations before being whisked away again, this time to Rome, first in the service of Pope John Paul II and then Pope Benedict XVI, carrying the Vatican’s messages of social justice and peace to conferences and international conventions across the globe.

But through all his travels and vast experiences, Bishop-designate Dewane has retained the basic lessons he learned in his childhood and these, he said, have not only helped mold him into the man he is today, these childhood experiences provide the basis for much of his recent work in peace and justice.

A student of the Soviet situation

Although his faith life was strong growing up, the call to priesthood wasn’t at the top of the career list for Bishop-designate Dewane as he embarked on his college years. Instead, his fascination lay with Russia. Therefore, during his junior year in college in 1971, he joined a study tour of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

“I had always read things about Russia, communism and the Soviet Union. As a child who grew up in the ’60s and the Cold War and heard things about them, I developed an interest and went there.”

He had the opportunity to return during his senior year and was hooked, choosing to focus his graduate work on Soviet area studies. An understanding but realistic professor convinced him that, in order to have a career outside academia, he would be better off with a different major while keeping the Soviet studies as an interest. Therefore, he earned his master’s degree in international administration and, as soon as he was able, found a position in Moscow, first with a small consulting firm and later with NBC.

“It was, for me, a fantastic period in my life. It was most enjoyable to meet people who were different than you, who had a different perspective,” he said. “They weren’t the miserable people who wanted to kill all the Americans. They were just like we were and they wanted the best for their children and they wondered why we wanted to attack them. And I thought, ‘We don’t want to attack you. It’s you who’s going to attack us.’ And you suddenly realize, its kind of all in the eyes of the beholder here,” he said.

“For me it was a spiritual time, also,” he said. “It’s a growing up, it’s a maturing, it’s a developing of interests different from where you come from.”

Bishop-designate Dewane stayed in Moscow until shortly before what was supposed to be the airing of the 1980 Olympics with NBC. That all changed with the invasion of Afghanistan and the Olympic boycott that changed the scope of his job.

A ‘late’ vocation

Bishop-designate Dewane said he had, for some time, thought about pursuing a religious vocation.

“I thought it would be nice to be a priest, but I always thought there was something more interesting that I had to do first,” he said. “But the idea of being a priest kept coming back. Those other things were not more interesting or satisfying.”

While in Russia, Bishop-designate Dewane told himself that it was time to make the decision. He would go back to the United States, get a job and decide. He was now about 30 years old.

He moved to New York City where he took a job with a subsidiary of PepsiCo while he decided if he was going to enter seminary.

“I guess you could say I was collecting reasons not to become a priest,” he said. “I was getting older and I had a job and I had a nice apartment and my income was fine, so at some point I thought, ‘Frank, you’ve just got to decide to decide.’ And that’s what I did when I came home from Russia — I decided to decide.”

Therese Mauch worked for Bishop-designate Dewane as a sales coordinator during his time at the PepsiCo subsidiary. It was 1982 and he was her first boss out of college, she said.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “He set high standards for himself and high standards for everybody else.”

Because Mauch is also Catholic, she said they frequently talked about their faith and what was going on in the church.

“Was I surprised he left to be a priest? No, not really,” she said. “It was a very big change from what he was doing, but on the other hand, he always discussed his faith and it was always something he was very strong about, even in New York City, and this was New York City in the ‘80s.”

Mauch said she was thrilled to hear that he was about to celebrate his episcopal ordination.

“I’m sure he’s going to be a terrific bishop and I’m not surprised he is on his way to becoming a bishop,” she said.

He is someone who has a great education and is interested in many things, she said, so he is able to talk to people on a variety of levels.

“He can make a difference,” she said, “and he can make a difference for the Catholic Church.”

It took him, he said, nearly three years — during which time he worked and socialized and prayed — to make the decision that he was going to leave it all behind.

“I never had any qualms and that’s the goodness of the Lord to us all,” he said of his decision. “I never looked back, saying, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have done this’ or ‘I wish I had some more income,’ or something like that. It was all just fine.”

He had, of course, thought about getting married during his discernment process.

“If you talk to a lot of priests, the fact that they’re priests does not mean that they didn’t want to marry,” he said. “I think sometimes our society today is a little bit, ‘I want to do everything. I want to go to the moon.’ You choose and you move on in your life.”

Globe-trotting again

Bishop-designate Dewane was ordained a priest of the Green Bay Diocese July 16, 1988, by then-Bishop Adam Maida and was settled into parish life at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Green Bay. The parish had both a school and a home for the ambulatory elderly where he assisted. Bishop-designate Dewane also assisted at the diocesan Tribunal.

In 1991, however, the then-Bishop Robert Banks told him that he was requested to go to the New York to serve as a member of the permanent observer mission of the Holy See to the United Nations.

Oscar De Rojas of the United Nations has known Bishop-designate Dewane for over 20 years, he said. They first met when Bishop-designate Dewane was a layman living in New York and De Rojas was a diplomat for Venezuela. They then rekindled their friendship when Bishop-designate Dewane returned to New York as part of the Vatican delegation to the United Nations for the Holy See. De Rojas was working then for the United Nations. The pair covered many of the same issues.

“He was a very well-liked person by everyone,” De Rojas said. There are some in the diplomatic community who don’t feel comfortable working with the Vatican, he said, or may feel squeamish about approaching whoever sits at the seat that says “Holy See,” “but Msgr. Frank always found a way to make himself liked and respected by everyone, and not only by people who were Christian, but even by people who were not religious in anyway.”

He had a talent, De Rojas said, for working for the compromise in a situation that would not compromise the issue.

“I think he won a lot of friends for the Holy See here at the United Nations by his presence,” he said.

After five years there, Bishop-designate Dewane was transferred to Rome where he served as an official of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum from 1995 to March of 2001, which carries out many of the charitable works of the Holy Father, including work with the U.S. agencies of Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities.

From Cor Unum, Bishop-designate Dewane moved on to his most recent post as undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The primary responsibility of the council is to promote justice, peace, development and human rights.

His work for the Vatican has taken him to international conferences and meetings all over the world, including Brazil, Egypt, China, Denmark, Turkey, South Africa, Mexico and Japan, dealing with water issues, the environment, human rights and war and peace issues.

“Somebody said to me, ‘Don’t you find it really tough to do this?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s a natural.’ Oh yes, sometimes it’s unpleasant and difficult,” he said, “but it was a natural in that life’s important and people wanted to take life or end life (in cases such as abortion or euthanasia). … It’s the Lord who determines these. We don’t have that right.”

It may seem a long way to go from the roots of the Wisconsin farm boy, but really, he said, the roots are still firmly planted where they always have been.

The gardener

When he arrived in Rome, Bishop-designate Dewane said there was a large terrace area outside his apartment with nothing on it, but he worked hard to change that.

“Now it’s something like a jungle,” he said. “I just enjoyed it immensely. I hope to continue doing some of that in Venice. It’s my therapy. It’s just good for me.”

Growing up, he said, he did a lot of gardening, although more with vegetables then, unlike the flowers he tends now.

“I enjoy getting out and growing things. It’s kind of a free gift from God. You plant something, give it some water and air and it grows,” he said. “On a farm, you learn a tremendous appreciation for life and the cycles of life” as well as the economic aspects that are involved with animals being born and dying.

“But also the appreciation for life, all creatures, the gift that God gives and the beauty of it – whether its in plants, flowers or animals, and then the supreme gift, the human being and the beauty that is in each person.”

It is that appreciation for all life that carries over into all of the work he does, whether it was facing down U.N. diplomats over the best uses of the environment or discussing where the spiritual needs of workers should be considered with the World Trade Organization.

What the future holds

With his episcopal ordination as coadjutor bishop Tuesday, July 25, said Bishop John J. Nevins, Bishop-designate Dewane will be appointed a vicar general of the Venice Diocese.

“Bishop-designate Dewane will familiarize himself with the workings of the diocese, visiting parishes and schools, attending meetings and getting to know the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Venice,” he said.

Then, at Bishop Nevins’ retirement in January 2007, Bishop Dewane will be the second bishop of Venice in Florida.

When that time comes, Bishop-designate Dewane hopes that his episcopal motto, “Iustitia Pax Gaudium” (Justice, Peace, Joy), reflects his commitment to promote issues of peace and justice in the diocese.

Bishop Nevins said he has strong faith in his soon-to-be coadjutor and future successor.

“Bishop-designate Dewane is very much a man of faith and justice. Formed by his parents and his Catholic community as a child in the farmland of Wisconsin, and seasoned in doing the good works of the Holy Father in the Pontifical Councils Cor Unum and Justice and Peace, Bishop-designate Dewane has a deep respect for the family and its needs,” he said. “He also has an understanding of the needs of the peace and justice issues currently taking place within our diocese, such as those facing immigrants, farmworkers and their families, the elderly, the incarcerated and the environment.”

Bishop-designate Dewane said his priorities do include the diocese’s considerable elderly population, the youth, the family and the migrant workers and their families.

“Certainly it’s a diocese that has an elderly population, so any pastor in this diocese has to have the aging population as a priority,” he said. “And always the migrant workers – and their families, because we can’t treat that entity separately. Sometimes they’re traveling with them, sometimes they’re not.”

He also plans to be aware of issues facing those in the prison system, as well, although he knows that the diocese has an active prison ministry.

“It’s a population that can get forgotten and we need to be attentive to that,” he said.

“‘To those who have been given (much), much will be asked,’ and now we need to respond to that. And that’s just not about money,” he said. “That’s about talents; that’s about loving your brothers and sisters really, even when you don’t know them.”

His future episcopacy won’t be without its challenges. Among them, he said, will be future vocations.

“The people of the Diocese of Venice, God’s people in Venice, need priests,” he said. “It’s not about just the bishop needing priests or priests needing other priests. The people of God in the Diocese of Venice need priests and it is they who need to respond, to have to share responsibility for the question of vocations. It’s something that happens together.”

Meanwhile, he said, he will spent a lot of time visiting parishes and schools, getting to know the diocese physically, as well as meeting the people and the priests in their own parishes. He said he plans to go to many events to which he is invited and even some to which he is not invited.

“I don’t want to interfere in a school board or a pastor running his parish, but just to be available and to go out to the social centers the diocese has,” he said. “I think Bishop Nevins was very astute and very insightful in setting the schools that you see, the social centers that you see, the outreach that exists. It’s good and needs to continue. And we can always build on things, too.”

Bishop-designate Dewane says he believes that, in the model of society today, consultation has to be part of most decisions.

If a decision affects, for example, a school, he wants to hear what the parents, staff and students have to say about it and to be told how they feel about the issue, their experience and their visions for the future as to where the issue should go.

It is important to add, however, that there is a difference between consultation and decision-making, he said.

“They are two totally different processes. One precedes the other,” he said. “I have the obligation to listen, but I have the right and the responsibility to make the decision in the end and then we must move forward as church.”

As the Venice Diocese moves forward, Bishop-designate Dewane will carry on the good works of Bishop Nevins, working closely with the priests to aid the diocese as it continues to grow. It is with a joyful heart that he undertakes his newest ministry, once again planting roots and helping the faith to grow.

Newly appointed Bishop returns to Diocese

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Ordination/installation key information

The Ordination and Installation Mass of Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, July 11, at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers. Out of necessity, due to high demand and capacity constraints, this event is by Invitation Only. Parishioners are encouraged to join us in prayer, via livestream. Both the Ordination Mass on July 11 and the Solemn Vespers at 5 p.m., Friday, July 10, will be livestreamed via the Diocesan website at https://dioceseofvenice.org/livestream/, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DioceseofVenice. Join us in prayer as we welcome Bishop Emilio to the Diocese of Venice!

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Bishop-elect Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., returned to the Diocese of Venice for the week of June 15-20, 2026, ahead of his July 11 Apostolic Ordination and Installation as the third Bishop of the Diocese.

During his time in Venice, the Bishop-elect became better acquainted with the Diocese through a series of meetings with Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Diocesan Chancellor Volodymyr Smeryk, and many other key Diocesan leaders. The Bishop-elect was only in the Diocese of Venice for a few days when his appointment was announced on May 13.

A key aspect of the new Bishop’s visit was the opportunity to have meetings with priests in the four Deaneries (regions) of the Diocese. These meetings allowed many Diocesan priests to meet Bishop Biosca in an informal setting where both sides learned more about each other. Additional meetings took place with religious men and women, Deacons, as well as a visit to Guadalupe Social Services of Catholic Charities in Immokalee.

Bishop Biosca is making an effort to learn about how the Diocese functions. The new Bishop is especially interested in learning the pastoral needs of the different Parishes as well as what pressing issues will demand his attention as soon as he takes over as shepherd of the Diocese in July.

When not on the road meeting priests, the new Bishop was able to begin to move into his residence in Venice. He also stood for his formal portrait and took part in interviews, in both English and Spanish, in anticipation of his coming ordination, in an effort to help the faithful of the Diocese get to know him.

Welcome, Bishop Emilio!

Venice seminarian takes a big step on his long road to the priesthood

Posted on by Bob Reddy

The journey to the priesthood for Diocese of Venice Seminarian Bao Nguyen began in Vietnam and then to Sarasota and points beyond. Nguyen reached a major milestone along that path on April 18, 2026, when he was Ordained to the Transitional Diaconate, a major step on his spiritual journey.

Deacon Nguyen was among 11 ordained at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Boca Raton, by Most Rev. Gregg M. Caggianelli, Auxiliary Bishop for the Archbishop of the Military Services, USA. The men, from different Dioceses across Florida, are studying at both St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach and Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, where Deacon Nguyen is studying.

“My vocation to the priesthood has been a calling I’ve felt from a young age,” Deacon Nguyen said. “As a child in Vietnam, I often pretended to celebrate Mass with my friend acting as the altar server. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to become a priest. Moving to the United States gave me more opportunities to pursue that calling, and through prayer and service, that desire has only strengthened.”

Just prior to his ordination, now Transitional Deacon Bao wrote, “As I approach my ordination, I am filled with gratitude to God and to everyone who has supported and prayed for me along this journey. I am ready and eager to embrace this new chapter – proclaiming the Gospel, preaching, baptizing, witnessing marriages, presiding at funerals, and assisting at the altar during Mass. This is both a great blessing and a duty, and I entrust it all to God with a grateful heart.”

The first of three ranks of ordained ministry in the Church, deacons perform many services to the Church in conjunction with the ministries of priests and bishops. In Parish life, deacons may preside at baptisms, weddings and rites of Christian burial, assist the priest at Mass, proclaim the Gospel and deliver homilies.

In his homily, Bishop Caggianelli, who was former Vice Rector at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary and is a resident instructor at the seminary as well as a former priest of the Diocese of Venice, said the primary duty of a new deacon is to preach the Gospel of God to all.

“That is to preach like Christ, to be like Christ. Very simple, but not easy at all,” Bishop Caggianelli said. “We can say it, but we have to live it in your actions, expressed through liturgical gestures. By doing so, you embrace characteristics of Jesus Christ, and your lives will become hidden in Him.”

The ordination to Transitional Deacon is a Sacrament of love, humility and obedience which are radical signs in the world, Bishop Caggianelli said.

“Draw strength from the promise you make today,” the Bishop said. “May you be witnesses of Christ by your lives of humble obedience expressed loving and with sacrificial service. That is how we proclaim the Gospel of God to all. May God who has begun the good work in you, bring it to fulfillment.”

Following the homily, the men approached Bishop Caggianelli one-by-one, knelt and promised respect and obedience to his Bishop and his successors. To signify humble submission before God, the men then lay prostrate in the sanctuary while the assembly sang the Litany of Saints.

The ordinations were complete after each man again approached the Bishop who imposed his hands on the candidate and proclaimed a prayer of consecration, to confer the Holy Spirit to guide their ministries.

The Deacons then received a stole and dalmatic (the exterior garb of a deacon), signifying the Office of Diaconate and the deacon’s role in the celebration of the Eucharist. Deacon Nguyen was vested by Father Scott Surrency, OFM Cap., a professor at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary.

Next, the newly ordained Deacons knelt before the Bishop who presented them with the Book of the Gospels, and said: “Receive the Gospels of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” The reception of the Book of Gospels is a symbol of their new ministry of proclaiming the Gospel and preaching. The Rite of Ordination concluded with the fraternal kiss of peace.

Nguyen, 39, who has been studying at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, is the eighth of nine children and was born in Vietnam. He moved to the United States in 1998, when he was 12, and spent part of his middle school years in Sarasota before moving to Missouri. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and worked in Information Technology before returning to Sarasota. “Throughout those years, I remained deeply involved in the life of the Church. I served as an altar server, assisted as a Eucharistic minister, and played an active role in fundraising and serving the Vietnamese Catholic community at St. Martha Church, my home Parish.” Deacon Nguyen has served at St. Joseph and Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles in Bradenton for summer pastoral assignments.

Attending the ordination on behalf of the Diocese of Venice was Vocations Director Father Alex Pince. In addition, Deacon Nguyen was blessed to have a large number of family and friends present to witness this important moment.

Please pray for Deacon Nguyen as he continues his spiritual journey.

 

News Briefs for the week of February 13, 2026

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Appointments

After broad consultation, Bishop Frank J. Dewane announces the following:

Father Roderick Mitial, as Parochial Vicar at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples effective Feb. 6, 2026.

Father Gilbert Nortilus, relieved of duties as Parochial Vicar of St. Peter the Apostle in Naples effective Feb. 6, 2026.

Father Manoj Francis, M.C.B.S., as Parochial Vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Cape Coral, and St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Cape Coral, effective Jan. 30, 2026.

Father Robert Mulligan, O.S.F.S., as Administrator of St. Ann Parish in Naples effective Jan. 27, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as Parochial Vicar of St. Ann Parish.

Father Michael Young, as Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Light Parish in Fort Myers effective Jan. 26, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as Parochial Vicar of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.

Father Juan Carlos Sack, as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in LaBelle, effective Jan. 1, 2026, and thus is relieved of his duties as Temporary Parochial Vicar at St. Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs.

Father Grzegorz Klich, as Parochial Vicar of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Port Charlotte, effective Dec. 31, 2025, and thus is relieved of his duties as Parochial Vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Cape Coral.

Wauchula man ordained to priesthood for Institute of the Incarnate Work

Congratulations to Father Miguel Castro III, IVE, of St. Michael Parish in Wauchula, who was ordained to the Priesthood for the Institute of the Incarnate Word, Feb. 7, 2026, at St. Matthew Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Father Miguel is the first priest ordained from Hardee County and was scheduled to celebrate his First Mass at St. Michael on Feb. 12. St. Michael is served by women religious, Servant Sisters of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara, who are part from the Incarnate Word order.

Lunar New Year celebrated by Vietnamese Catholic Community in Fort Myers

The Vietnamese Catholic Community of St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers held an early celebration of the Lunar New Year on Feb. 8, 2026, at Our Lady of Light Parish in Fort Myers. The celebration, which included a formal dinner and live music, was moved due to ongoing renovations at St. John XXIII. Bishop Frank J. Dewane addressed the faithful saying, “It is I who am honored to be with all of you as a part of this festive celebration. Your presence in the Diocese is positive and beautiful and the contribution you make here to your Parish is substantial.” Adam Nguyen, who has been a leader in the Fort Myers Vietnamese community since its founding many years ago, said it was an honor to have the Bishop present for the community celebration. Also present were Father Jimmy Pham, CRM, the current Chaplain for the Vietnamese community at St. John XXIII, Father Jay Raju, Pastor at St. John XXIII, and Diocesan Seminarian Lam Vo, who is studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach and is currently serving as Pastoral Year at the Parish. A larger, family-oriented, outdoor celebration of the Lunar New Year will take place at St. John XXIII on Feb. 15.

Parish Gala held at local aquarium

The Our Lady of the Angels Parish 2026 Gala, themed “Into the Deep,” was held Feb. 6, 2026, at Mote Aquarium at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. “Put out into the deep,” comes from the Gospel of Luke and is a call from Christ Himself to journey into the depths of faith, purpose, and mission. This special evening was both a celebration of the profound ways the Parish continues to inspire and a courageous call to journey further—deeper in spirituality, service, and generosity. Bishop Frank J. Dewane was the honored guest and noted how the Lakewood Ranch Parish has gained a reputation for its generosity to the community while undergoing rapid growth. The evening included live and silent auctions as well as live music.

Buddy program helps students improve literacy

To help improve the reading skills for students at St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota, teachers have developed a buddy system where second grade students read to their pre-kindergarten-4 counterparts. The most recent team-up took place Feb. 5, 2026, helps the older students to improve with their language skills such as fluency and intonation while helping to teach their buddies how to read better all while building friendships and community in the school.

School hydroponics garden helps food pantry

The hydroponics garden at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton has been generating impressive yields of cabbage and tomatoes in recent days. On Feb. 6, 2026, representatives from the school’s Builders Club and K-Kids (Kiwanis Kids), made a delivery to the St. Joseph Food Pantry. The school partners with the food pantry throughout each school year to collect needed food and to also share what is grown in the hydroponics garden. The fresh vegetables were a welcome addition to what was offered at the pantry.

Faith & Wine in Lee County Feb. 19

Faith & Wine, an outreach for uniting Catholic women of all backgrounds and ages to develop friendships and to support one another as they apply the Gospel to their lives, will have its next event of the 2025-2026 season Feb. 19, 2026, at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish, 8051 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers. The guest speaker is Carol Razza, whose talk is titled: “Wake Up Sleeping Beauty, You Have Already Been Kissed.” Tickets are $28 and include a 3-course meal with wine followed by a presentation by an inspirational speaker. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dinner to follow. Program begins at approximately 6:45 p.m. and ends at approximately 8:30 p.m. For more information, or to register, please visit https://faithandwineleecounty.com/.

Theology on Tap Feb. 19 in University Park

The next gathering of Theology on Tap, a very special night of fellowship, faith, and fun with fellow Catholic young adults from across the Diocese, is 7 – 9 p.m., Feb. 19, 2026, at Oak & Stone, 5405 University Parkway, University Park. The special guest is Martin Doman, who will offer a night of praise and music. Theology on Tap meets on the third Thursday of every month There is no cost to attend, and no registration required. Bring a friend. For more information, contact Andres Prias at prias@dioceseofvenice.org.

Faith & Ale of Southwest Florida Feb. 19

Faith & Ale, a Catholic Men’s Apostolate in Southwest Florida, offers monthly gatherings of Catholic men promoting fellowship and growth in faith. The next meeting is Feb. 19, 2026, at Our Lady of Light Parish, 19680 Cypress View Drive, Fort Myers. The guest speaker is Father James Rafferty, Director of the Institute for Priestly Formation, who will discuss “Discerning God’s Voice & The Tempter’s Voice.” Tickets are $10.  Doors open at 6 p.m. Register https://faithandale.com/. For more information, email faithandalefortmyers@gmail.com.

Diocesan Lenten Youth Retreats

The Diocese of Venice Youth & Young Adult Ministry is offering opportunities for middle school and high school students to participate in Diocesan Lenten Youth Retreats designed to create a time and place for silence, reflection, and shared experience, allowing young people to step away from the pace and distractions of daily life and re-focus their hearts on God. The middle school retreats will be offered 5 – 8:30 p.m., Feb. 20, 2026, at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Naples, and March 3, at St. Paul Parish, Arcadia. The high school retreats will be 3 – 8 p.m., Feb. 22, at St. Raphael Parish, Lehigh Acres, and March 1, at St. Thomas More Parish, Sarasota. Registration will open at dioceseofvenice.org on Jan. 20. The cost is $10 per student.  For further information, please contact Andres Prias at prias@dioceseofvenice.org or 941-441-1122.

Walk for the Poor in Cape Coral Feb. 21

The 5th Annual Walk for the Poor to support the outreach of the St. Vincent de Paul St. Andrew Conference in Cape Coral will take place 10 a.m., Feb. 21, 2026, at St. Andrew Parish, 2628 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral. The walk will help families throughout Cape Coral as every day, SVdP volunteers provide emergency food, medical or prescription cost assistance, and help to restore utilities or prevent cut-off. Every dollar raised goes back to the local community. In 2025, the St. Andrew Conference processed more than 1,100 phone calls, conducted more than 350 home visits and helped 547 households with 1,500 people, including 600 children. The cost is $15. Please register at www.go.rallyup.com/capesvdp.

Project Rachel retreat Feb. 24

For women or men who have been scarred by abortion, the Diocese offers “Project Rachel,” an outreach of the Catholic Church to those who are suffering and in need of healing following an abortion. This program offers help through the sacraments, retreats, and referrals for professional counseling, all confidentially. The next healing retreat will be held Feb. 24, 2026. For more information, or to join, please contact, Sylvia Jimenez, Project Rachel Coordinator, at 941-412-5860 (English and en Español), or project.rachel@dioceseofvenice.org. The Diocese also works with “Support After Abortion,” a national outreach to provide individualized care for those impacted by abortion. For details, visit https://supportafterabortion.com/.

 

Execution Vigils Feb. 24 and March 3

The execution of Florida inmates by the State of Florida continues at an alarming rate. A record 19 executions took place in Florida in 2025, with the first execution of 2026 taking place on Feb. 10. For each Florida execution, a Prayer Vigil is scheduled at San Pedro Parish Chapel, 14380 Tamiami Trail, North Port. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. The Prayer Vigils begin at 5:30 p.m., last less than an hour and include hymns, a Gospel reading, reflections, intercessions and a praying of the Rosary. A pause takes place at 6 p.m., the time the actual executions take place. Everyone involved in the execution process is prayed for; the doctor administering the execution, the witnesses, the victims and their families, and we pray for a conversion of the condemned, and an end to the death penalty. The next execution Prayer Vigil is Feb. 24, 2026, which will coincide with the scheduled execution of Melvin Trotter, who is scheduled to be the second person executed in Florida this year. Another Vigil will take place March 3, to coincide with the execution of Billy Leon Kearse.

Our Mother’s House Wine Tasting Feb. 26

The Catholic Charities Our Mother’s House Wine Tasting Auction and Dinner Dance is 5:30 p.m., Feb 26, at Plantation Golf & Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice. The annual event benefits the mothers and children at Our Mother’s House, a 2-year transitional living program located in the heart of Venice, dedicated to empowering single mothers with a child. Tickets $150. For more information, 941-485-6264 or omhwinetasting@ccdov.org.

Liberty Ball for Ave Maria School of Law

The Ave Maria School of Law invites all to attend the Liberty Ball – Celebrating 250 Years of Justice & the American Way, 5:30 p.m., Feb. 24, 2026, Royal Poinciana Golf Club, Naples. The theme is 18th century inspired elegance or black-tie optional. The keynote speaker is Christopher Ruddy, CEO, Newsmax Media. Tickets are $1,000. For more information, contact Jackie Burke at 239-687-5341 or jburk@avemarialaw.edu.

Lenten Parish Mission

Father Cedric Pisegna, C.P., an inspirational and motivational speaker and author of 26 books, will be hosting a Lenten Mission 5:30 p.m. nightly from March 1 through March 4, 2026, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 1301 Center Road, Venice. All are welcome. Call 941-497-2931 for more information.

Application deadline for Foundation scholarships is March 1

The deadline for entry for college and vocational scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year from the Catholic Community Foundation of Southwest Florida is 11:59 p.m., Sunday, March 1, 2025. To apply for all available scholarships, visit ccfdioceseofvenice.org. For more information contact Anna Kollmeyer at 941-486-4722 or ccf@dioceseofvenice.org.

Emmaus Experience Women’s Retreat in March

The Epiphany Cathedral Emmaus Retreat Team is hosting an Emmaus Experience Women’s Retreat March 6 to March 8, 2026, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice. Give yourself the gift of time away from distractions of your daily routine to listen to Jesus and the Holy Spirit in an environment of sincere faith, fellowship, and worship. Registration is $305 for a double room, $415 for a private room. Space is limited. The registration deadline is Feb. 16, 2026. Please contact Donna Vodraska at donnavodraska@aol.com or 630-336-0918.

Vocations Awareness Weekend Retreat

Is God calling you, or someone you know, to the priesthood? The Diocese of Venice Vocations Offices is offering a weekend retreat for young men to learn firsthand about in the life of a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami! Open to young men ages 17 and up, the retreat is March 6-8, 2026. Transportation is provided. Contact Lina Johnson to register at johnson@dioceseofvenice.org or call 941-486-4720.

Royal Rummage Sale XVIII March 6-7

The St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish Women’s Guild presents Royal Rummage Sale XVIII, in the Parish Hall, 4280 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. The early bird sale is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 6, 2026, and the admission is $5. The regular sale, with free admission, is 9 a.m. – noon, March 7. Don’t miss out on the biggest and best rummage sale on Longboat Key which includes clothing, furniture, art, collectible, jewelry, housewares, linens, toys, electronics, books, and much more.

Venetian Ball March 7 in Bonita Springs

The annual Catholic Charities Venetian Ball is 6 p.m., March 7, 2026, at St. Leo the Great Parish Hall, 28290 Beaumont Road, Bonita Springs. This gala benefits programming and services in Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties. Tickets are $250, and are available at https://catholiccharitiesdov.org/events. For more information, call 239-342-1620 or email venetianball@ccdov.org.

Emerald Ball March 14 in Naples

The annual Catholic Charities Emerald Ball is 5:30 p.m., March 14, 2026, at the Ritz-Carlton Tiburon Golf Resort, 2600 Tiburon Drive, Naples. This event benefits the programs and services in Collier County. Tickets are $500, and are available at https://catholiccharitiesdov.org/events. For more information, call 239-455-2655 or email emeraldball@catholiccharitiesdov.org.

Marriage Prep retreats/seminars coming soon

Marriage Preparation Retreats are required by the Diocese of Venice for those couples preparing for Sacramental Marriage in the Catholic Church. The retreat’s purpose is to enable couples to become more aware of the privileges and responsibility of marriage. The next two of many Marriage Retreats in 2026 are March 21, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice, and June 20 at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples. Additionally, the Two Become One Marriage Retreat prepares couples 55 and older who are planning for the Sacrament of Marriage or convalidation in the Catholic Church. The next Two Become One Marriage Retreat is May 2, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice. Registration is required for all retreats at https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2026-day-of-reflection-mp-retreat. Couples unable to attend an in-person retreat may contact the Diocesan Marriage Prep office to register for the online version. Please contact Jim Gontis at 941- 486-4754 or gontis@dioceseofvenice.org.

Chrism Mass March 31 in Bonita Springs

The Chrism Mass, which takes place during Holy Week every year, will be held 10:30 a.m., March 31, 2026, at St. Leo the Great Parish, 28290 Beaumont Road, Bonita Springs. During this Mass, Bishop Frank J. Dewane will bless the Holy Oils which are used in the administration of the Sacraments at each parish throughout the year. Priests and Deacons celebrating 25 and 50 years of Ordination are recognized at this Mass.

Diocese of Venice Missionary Opportunity for Summer 2026 Now Open

Could the Lord be calling you? The Diocese of Venice is inviting college-age young adults to apply to serve as Totus Tuus Missionaries for the Diocese’s Parish Catechetical Summer Totus Tuus Camps. As a Totus Tuus Missionary, you will be an authentic witness to Christ’s love, teach the Catholic faith to children and youth, and grow in leadership, community, and your personal relationship with Christ. Many missionaries describe Totus Tuus as one of the most meaningful and life-changing experiences of their lives, a summer where faith deepens, friendships grow, and God’s call becomes clearer. Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Apply today! To apply, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/562S8YS. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older, and available from May 20 through July 31, 2026. For further information, contact Andres Prias, Diocesan Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry, at prias@dioceseofvenice.org or 941-441-1122.

Catholic Charities offers Mental Health Counseling Services

Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice is offering mental health counseling, including tele-health, for adults and children provided by licensed mental health therapists. If you or someone you know is feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, helpless, or overwhelmed, Catholic Charities can help. For more information on this service, please call 239-455-2655 or visit Catholic Charities online: www.catholiccharitiesdov.org.

Prison Ministry volunteers needed throughout Diocese

Join the team of Diocesan volunteers who enter county jails and state prisons within the 10-county Diocese of Venice to do pastoral outreach, distribute the Eucharist and facilitate programs. Priests, Deacons, and lay volunteers are encouraged to assist in this ministry. Volunteers will first participate in an orientation program before entering the facility and will shadow experienced volunteers until they feel comfortable. Times and days vary by facility. Please contact Joe Mallof at 224-217-7139 or Bob Hiniker 863-558-0407 to learn where you can fit into this joyful opportunity.

Free Rosary Repair Service

Send your broken rosaries in a padded envelope to Betty and Dick Holden, Free Rosary Repair Service, 7930 Estero Blvd., Unit 502, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931. Rosaries will be repaired and returned within the week of receipt. Donations of old rosaries are also accepted, which will be repaired and sent to missions. Include a note indicating repair or donation. For more details, please call 239-463-3993, 860-595-6370 or holdenbnd@gmail.com.

 

In persona Christi – Three ordained to the priesthood

Posted on by Bob Reddy

In a public response to a “call to holiness” Joseph Corboy Doherty, Jacob Christian Gwynn and William Patrick Long were Ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Frank J. Dewane during a Mass on July 12, 2025, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice.

The poignant and emotional Rite of Ordination places Fathers Doherty, Gwynn and Long in a new role as they were raised to the Order of the Presbyterate where they will now celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, confer the Sacraments and teach the Gospel. The ordination was held at Our Lady of Lourdes due to the ongoing reconstruction of Epiphany Cathedral.

Father Doherty said afterwards, “This day is one of the most important days of my life and the fulfillment for which I was born; and I hope to be worthy of the call to the priesthood.”

Father Gwynn said it was a long journey, entering seminary right out of high school, but to be there “laying prostrate on the floor, the laying on of hands, the graces of God were overflowing. My heart has been stretched and formed these past many years (9 years in seminary together, but his whole life), so now to receive from God, I can’t do anything but give that back to God through His people in service and fidelity to the priesthood.”

Father Long said the experience of the ordination was “awesome.” “It was a tremendous blessing for which I am very grateful. Grateful to God, He was very present in His Holy Spirit. Jesus was up there with us. And to be able to affect the Eucharist in such a way, not only to share His love, but His Body and Blood with others is a tremendous gift.”

Bishop Dewane congratulated the ordinandi for answering the call to holiness and advancing in formation through prayer, discernment, guidance and direction which helped them grow closer to the Lord. Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the ordinandi are called to reflect and magnify Christ and bring others closer to Christ. The priesthood was established by Christ to be coworkers with the Order of Bishops, with whom they are joined in a priestly office of Christ. As a shepherd for Christ, the newly ordained are to exercise this role without ceasing, to the very best that their ability, talents and gifts allow.

“Today you are to be ordained to the order of presbyterate so that you too may serve as Christ did, as the Teacher, the Priest and the Shepherd,” Bishop Dewane said. “By priestly ministry the body of the Church of Christ is filled up and grows ever more in the world today. You men are to be configured to Christ, the Eternal High Priest. You are to be consecrated as true priests in the New Testament.”

Citing Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Dewane reminded the men that Christ first and foremost desires our friendship. “Become that friend of Christ. This spiritual foundation sustains us in times of trial. It allows us to renew each day the “Yes!” that you express by your presence here today.”

Bishop Dewane encouraged the new priests to be passionate in their priestly life. “That passion must be in the present and in the future with a prophetic heart for whom you strive to be – with a meek and humble heart as Jesus was, and as we are all called to be.”

When the Rite of Ordination began, Doherty, Gwynn and Long were called forth to the presence of the Bishop by Diocese Director of Vocations, Father Alex Pince, and upon hearing his name called out, each answered “Present.” After the homily, each man came forward and knelt before the Bishop to promise respect and obedience to him and his successors. Then they lay prostrate before the altar as the Litany of Supplication/Litany of Saints was sung. The whole assembly joined in the prayer which invoked God’s grace and the intercession of the saints in heaven.

After this solemn act of prayer, the Sacrament of Ordination was conferred when each individually knelt before Bishop Dewane, who in silent prayer, imposed his hands on the head of the ordinand. In the sharing of the priesthood, each priest present laid their hands on the head of the newly ordained men, one at a time.

The ordinandi knelt once again before the Bishop, who recited the Consecratory Prayer of Ordination; the prayer, together with the Bishop’s imposition of hands, is the essential Rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

After the prayer, the newly ordained were vested in the stole and chasuble, vestments which are worn when celebrating the Eucharist and symbolize the responsibility and authority in service to Christ. Father Doherty was vested by Father Michael Nugent, Father Gwynn by Auxiliary Bishop Gregg Caggianelli, of the Archdiocese of the Military Services USA, and Father Long by Father Mark Moretti.

The hands/palms of the new priests were then anointed with the Sacred Chrism by Bishop Dewane, the sign of the special anointing of the Holy Spirit who will make the priest’s ministry fruitful. Next, the Bishop presented Fathers Doherty, Gwynn and Long with the chalice and paten which all priests are called to present to God in the Eucharistic sacrifice saying: “Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”

The Rite of Ordination ended with the Bishop giving a fraternal kiss of peace to each newly ordained priest, welcoming him into the Diocesan Presbyterate or priesthood. The priests present then followed the Bishop’s example. The newly ordained Fathers then joined Bishop Dewane at the altar to the applause and joy of all present.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist followed. Fathers Doherty, Gwynn and Long joined all the priests for the first time in concelebrating the Eucharist with Bishop Dewane, reciting together the words of consecration. For the first time, each of the new priests offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, acting in persona Christi. From this sacrifice their whole priestly ministry will draw its strength.

In addition to Bishop Dewane and Auxiliary Bishop Caggianelli, present for the ordination were many family members, friends, and more than 40 priests, including Father Alfredo Hernández, Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Msgr. Brian R. Kiely, Rector of Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, Father Christopher Murphy, Spiritual Director at the Pontifical North American College, and Father Dominic Buckley, Dean of Human Formation at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Also present were men and women religious, Permanent Deacons, Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta, Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the Knights of Columbus Color Corps, as well as hundreds of the faithful.

A reception followed in the Parish Hall where the priests formally greeted the public and imparted their priestly blessing upon them.

Hear from newly ordained on Bishop’s monthly radio program

Fathers Doherty, Gwynn, and Long joined Bishop Frank J. Dewane for his monthly half-hour radio program, “Witnessing Faith with Bishop Dewane,” on Relevant Radio at 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 25, 2025 (the last Friday of each month). The show airs on 106.7 FM and 1410 AM in Fort Myers and 93.3 FM and 1660 AM in Naples. “Witnessing Faith with Bishop Dewane” can also be heard at any time by visiting dioceseofvenice.org/ourbishop.

About the newly ordained priests

Father Doherty was born in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. After high school, he moved south to attend Ave Maria University where he graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Political Economy and Government. After working in business for several years and earning a master’s degree in systems engineering from Penn State University, he heard more clearly God’s call to holiness and discerned his vocation to the priesthood, completing his philosophy studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach and a theology degree at the Gregorian University in Rome. He is currently studying at the Angelicum University in Rome. He has completed summer assignments at several Parishes in the Diocese of Venice, including St. Leo the Great in Bonita Springs, St. William in Naples, and St. Francis Xavier in Fort Myers. Father will assist at various Parishes throughout the summer before returning to Rome to complete his studies in dogmatic and fundamental theology.

Father Gwynn was born and raised in Palmetto. He was baptized by Father Teofilo Useche, the current pastor of his home Parish, Holy Cross, and confirmed there by Bishop Dewane. A graduate of Palmetto High School, he went on to study at St. John Vianney College Seminary and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. As a Diocesan seminarian, Father Gwynn has had summer assignments at the following Parishes: St. William in Naples, St. Agnes in Naples; Our Lady of Lourdes in Venice; and Our Lady of Grace in Avon Park, St. John XXIII in Fort Myers, and Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, the latter where he served a pastoral year. He currently serves as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and looks forward to becoming a Navy chaplain following five years of priestly ministry in the Diocese of Venice. Father’s first assignment will be as Parochial Vicar at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples.

The second of six children, Father Long grew up in Sarasota, graduating from St. Martha Catholic School and later Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School. He earned a degree in marketing from Florida State University and before discerning his vocation to the priesthood, enjoyed a career in marketing in the health care industry. Father Long has always been active in the Church, as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, Religious Education teacher, youth group leader and Pro-Life volunteer. He credits his active participation in the Church to leading him to hear God’s call to the priesthood. He completed his theological studies at Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. As a seminarian for the Diocese, he served summer assignments at Incarnation Parish, St. Martha Parish and St. Thomas More Parish. Additionally, he attended the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Nebraska, later participating in a Spanish Summer Immersion Program in Guatemala. His first assignment as a priest will be as a Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Lakewood Ranch.

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