Three-quarters of the way through the Diocesan Phase of “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” and the feedback reflects the passion the faithful have for the Universal Church.
Participants come to the Diocesan Listening Sessions focused and ready to share where they believe the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church today. The latest Listening Sessions took place in Naples on March 24, 2022, at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish and March 28 at St. John the Evangelist Parish. Discussions were both positive and passionate.
The format of the Listening Sessions includes an opening prayer and brief remarks from Bishop Frank J. Dewane, with the focus shifting to lively table discussions. Each Session concentrates on questions inspired by 10 Synod themes supplied by the Vatican. Participants are also able to share additional comments privately through the Synod email, synod@dioceseofvenice.org.
Among the 10 themes under consideration is “Sharing Responsibility.” This is described by the Synod as follows: “The synodal process calls each member of the People of God to equally participate and take responsibility for the method of listening and dialogue being called by the Spirit. The participation of each member of the faithful is required to further the mission of the Church.” Other themes include: “Companions on the Journey,” “Listening,” “Speaking Out,” “Celebration,” and more.
Bishop Dewane has stressed during each Session how important it is to respond to the Synod, and the questions posed, in the context of what the Holy Spirit is asking of us, and can only be accomplished with an open heart, mind and soul. Bishop Dewane encouraged the faithful in attendance to share their dreams for the Church, and when the floor was open for a free discussion, many shared their hopes and dreams for the Universal Church.
Each session is being recorded to allow for proper documentation. The information gathered at the Diocesan Listening Sessions, as well as from direct or follow-up comments from the faithful, will be synthesized into a document which will be shared with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and ultimately the Vatican. Similar Listening Sessions are being held across the country and around the globe.
The St. Elizabeth Seton and St. John the Evangelist Listening Sessions were the seventh and eighth of 12 planned through May. Due to Holy Week and the Easter celebrations, the next Listening Sessions will take place in May in Sebring, Naples and LaBelle. Locations for the Sessions were selected based on geography and population to cover as much of the Diocese as possible.
For additional Synod details, please visit www.dioceseofvenice.org. To register for any of the Listening Sessions, please visit https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions.
“For A Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”
Listing of 12 Diocese of Venice Listening Sessions
- (Completed) Feb. 9, St. Thomas More Parish, Sarasota (Eng.);
- (Completed) Feb. 16, Epiphany Cathedral, Venice (Eng./Sp.);
- (Completed) Feb. 22, Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish, Bradenton (Eng./Sp.);
- (Completed) March 3, St. Andrew Parish, Cape Coral (Eng./Sp.);
- (Completed) March 14, St. John XXIII Parish, Fort Myers (Eng.);
- (Completed) March 16, Sacred Heart Parish, Punta Gorda (Eng.);
- (Completed) March 24; St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, 5225, Golden Gate Parkway, Naples (Eng./Sp.).
- (Completed) March 28, St. John the Evangelist Parish, 625 111th Ave. N., Naples (Eng.);
- Monday, May 9, St. Catherine Parish, 820 Hickory St., Sebring (Eng./Sp);
- Monday, May 16, St. Agnes Parish, 7775 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples (Eng.);
- Monday, May 23, Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish, 355 S. Bridge St., LaBelle (Eng./Sp);
- Virtual Session from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, May 25.
To register for a Listening Session of the Virtual Session, please visit https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions. Email synod@dioceseofvenice.org for any questions or comments regarding the Listening Sessions.
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.
Father Murphy most notably served as Pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Cape Coral for 21 years and later founded St. Andrew Catholic School.
Within the Diocese of Venice, Father Murphy was a longtime member of the school board for Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers, a member of the Presbyteral Council, Diocesan Treasurer, and then Vicar Forane (Dean) of the Central Deanery (1995-1997) prior to his retirement. In 1984, when St. Pope John Paul II erected the Diocese of Venice in Florida, Father Murphy was a member of an 11-priest committee which oversaw the various activities related to this important occasion. Events supervised included the elevation of Epiphany Church to a Cathedral, as well as the installation of Bishop John J. Nevins as the first Bishop of the new Diocese.
Members of the St. Michael Parish Council of Catholic Woman and Faith Formation Group from Wauchula traveled March 15, 2022, to Sarasota to pray to end abortion at the Planned Parenthood facility as part of the 40 Days for Life spring prayer campaign. The group was present 
Heinz Wartski, a 93 year old Holocaust survivor and Korean War veteran, shared his story with Bishop Verot Catholic High School students on March 15, 2022, in Fort Myers. Heinz Wartski grew up in Danzig with his parents and two siblings. In 1939, Heinz and his family escaped to Italy and later joined the partisan resistance in the Appenine Mountains. He stated: “We were a minority in every nation in which we lived, and we were therefore easy targets for any government in need of scapegoats.” His family survived until liberation in 1945. Heinz and his family immigrated to the United States in 1949. He married Hella Wartski, a fellow Holocaust survivor, and had two children. He currently resides in Naples, and volunteers with the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida.
Thank you to Katy Wallis, professor at State College of Florida, for leading fifth-grade students from St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton through an interactive lesson on the digestive system on March 18, 2022. Students used plastic bags filled with various items to get a “feel” for how the digestive system, including the stomach, works.
The St. John Neumann Catholic High School Celtic Boys Basketball Team in Naples finished the season with a team GPA of 3.74 which is #1 in the Florida High School Athletic Association 2A classification and the #3 team GPA in the entire state. Well done!
The faithful taking part in the Diocesan Listening Sessions come prepared to answer the fundamental concept of what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today. The latest Listening Sessions took place March 14, 2022, at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers and March 16 at Sacred Heart Parish in Punta Gorda. The feedback continues to be both positive and passionate.
Bishop Dewane has stressed during each Session how important it is to respond to the Synod, and the questions posed, in the context of what the Holy Spirit is asking of us, and can only be accomplished with an open heart, mind and soul.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated Mass on March 12, 2022, 15 years to the day the Bishop erected St. Agnes as a Parish, which had been a Mission of St. John the Evangelist Parish from 1999 to 2007.
Bishop Dewane spoke about how it is appropriate to celebrate milestones in the life of a Parish, pausing to look back at what has been accomplished and to look forward to where the Parish is going, particularly, one that continues to grow. The Bishop reflected how the Parish was able to overcome considerable debt in its early years thanks to the generosity of the faithful who had confidence in the vision of Father Kantor and his advisors.
The 156 catechumens (individuals who are not yet baptized) were joined by an additional 247 candidates (already-baptized Christians preparing for confirmation and First Eucharist), who also participated in the formal ceremony and are recognized during the celebration for answering the call to their continuing conversion. The Cathedral was nearly at capacity as many family members were also present to show their support.
The catechumens and candidates, who were recognized by Bishop Dewane, are on a continuing journey that will culminate when they come into full communion with the Catholic Church at the April 16 Easter Vigil Mass in their respective Parishes.
Bishop Dewane said this process should be a conversion of the heart, as each catechumen and candidate must prevent outside influences, such as things, people or objects, standing in their way of developing their relationship with the Lord.
Each catechumen will go through a series of scrutinies during which they examine their readiness to accept Christ and the Catholic Faith in the form of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation). This time culminates at the Easter Vigil when the catechumens are received through Baptism into the Catholic Church. The final period of the RCIA is the time of “Mystagogy” (post-baptismal catechesis). During the weeks following the Easter Vigil, the newly initiated live more profoundly their experience of Baptism and the Eucharist as they begin the journey of discipleship and their growing union with Christ.
For candidates, those who have been correctly baptized with a Trinitarian formula, the Catholic Church does not require re-Baptism. Candidates have already experienced a journey of faith and have an understanding of how Jesus leads us to the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit. In fact, many have been attending Mass with their families for years but may have never received the Sacrament of Holy Communion or the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Host, Father Francis “Rocky” Hoffman, had two special guests, Bishop Frank J. Dewane and Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Minneapolis – St. Paul, In addition, a group of more than 60 parishioners were present for the live broadcast which was recorded in the Parish church.
“There is a strong spirituality in both of those countries, and it is particularly painful to see what has happened and developed and wonder where they have put the place for Christ in their lives,” Bishop Dewane stated. “In the northern part of the Diocese there are large numbers of Ukrainians, and they have a strong spirituality.”
When asked for his special prayer intentions during the Family Rosary Across America, Bishop Dewane said: “I think we all need to pray for peace in our world, particularly with Ukraine in mind. To ask Our Lady’s intercession for people who have deep roots in spirituality, in the recognition in Our Lady, that they can come together and that the Holy Spirit will inspire the respective leaders to worry not so much about their egos but to worry about their people who are in such desperate need. Also, here in the Diocese of Venice, for our young people… that the Lord continue to inspire them in a desire for faith and a living of their faith throughout their lives.”
The format of the Listening Sessions includes an opening prayer and remarks from Bishop Frank J. Dewane. The Sessions transition into group table discussions focusing on some of the key questions posed by the Synod.
“These are exciting times,” said Janice Cooper of Resurrection Parish in Fort Myers, as she took part in the opening Candlelight Prayer Vigil for the 40 Days for Life spring campaign on March 1, 2022, in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility. “Years of praying may be coming to fruition.”
Also speaking during the opening vigil were Paul and Ivette Ladato of the Christian TV Network SWFL. The vigil was livestreamed through Christian TV Network and will also be available nationally on the station which has affiliates throughout the country.
Anyone interested in standing peacefully and praying during local 40 Days for Life vigils will do so in the public right-of-way outside Planned Parenthood in Fort Myers or Sarasota.
