Girls and boys from throughout the Diocese of Venice participated in Mass on May 5, 2024, at St. Agnes Parish in Naples, wearing the uniforms of their Scout troops.
Designated as “Scouting Sunday,” the Mass, which fell on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, was followed by an award ceremony in the Parish Hall to celebrate and recognize the girls and boys who commit themselves to scouting while remaining true to the Faith. Members of the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, American Heritage Girls (AHG), Fraternus, Troops of St. George, Trail Life USA, and the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society participated in the ceremony.
During a reception following Mass, Bishop Frank J. Dewane presented dozens of Scouting Religious Awards, with some Scouts receiving multiple honors.
Bishop Dewane told the Scouts that it is his prayer that the awards will continually give them encouragement to grow in their relationship with the Lord.
“Scouting, and similar programs, provide a unique opportunity for young people to grow in virtue. This is a crucial aspect in the formation of solid character and in becoming a good citizen,” Bishop Dewane said. “Catholic Scouting in particular, provides opportunities to grow in friendship with the Lord Jesus and to be rooted ever more deeply in the His Holy, Catholic Church.”
The awards earned from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) Religious Activities Awards included: Rosary Series, Marian Series, Faith Series, Footsteps of American Saints and Modern Saints. Diocesan Scout Awards included: Boy Jesus, Child of God, Kristallnacht, Mother Mary, and Our Lady. The National Committee Boy Scout Awards included: Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, and St. John the Baptist. American Heritage Girls Scouting Awards included: Tenderheart Faith – God and My Family, Explorer Faith – God and My Country, and Pioneer Faith – God and My Community, and Patriot Faith – Women of Integrity (these awards are earned in different segments). Each award requires the Scout to participate in different activities which help increase their Faith. The awards become more difficult to earn as the Scout advances.
New to the 2024 Scouting Faith Series was the National Eucharistic Revival patch, which was created as part of the ongoing U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops initiative to help grow a greater devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist. The goal of the Eucharistic Revival Scout activities was to instill sacramental and prayer practices regarding the Eucharist in the Scouts. To earn the patch, each Scout was required to attend weekly Mass, participate in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, take part in a Eucharistic Procession, pray the rosary, and read about the Eucharistic miracles. At the award ceremony, five Boy Scouts were so honored as were all members of American Heritage Girls Troop FL 1203, of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fort Myers.
In part due to this accomplishment, Troop FL 1203 was recognized and awarded a Pope Paul VI National Catholic Quality Unit Award. In addition, an adult honor went to Troop FL 1203 leader Kristen Tucker. Tucker was presented the Bronze Pelican Award, which recognizes an adult’s unique and outstanding contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youth. Bronze symbolizes spiritual strength, while the pelican is an early Christian symbol for self-sacrifice.
During the ceremony, Diocesan Scout Awards Coordinator Bob Paquette presented Bishop Dewane with the Quality Diocese Award, which is given to a Diocese for its commitment to supporting Catholic Scouting. This is the 15th year in a row the Diocese of Venice has received this award. Historically, about 40% of the Dioceses qualify for this important award.
Recognizing the hard work and commitment that the Scouts from throughout the Diocese of Venice make to earn the Catholic Religious Awards, Bishop Dewane congratulated each of the award recipients and all Scouts.
Also participating in the ceremony was National Committee Member Connie Kantor, and James Gontis, Diocesan Director of Evangelization.
Recognizing the hard work and commitment that the Scouts from throughout the Diocese of Venice make to earn the Catholic Religious Awards, Bishop Dewane congratulated each of the award recipients and all Scouts.
The 2022 St. Michael Parish Family Day on Nov. 12, 2022, in Wauchula, welcomed more than 130 families (over 250 participants to include parents and their children) for a beautiful day filled with guest speakers about parenting, a young adult guest speaker, and children learning about the Eucharist and how to have a stronger relationship with Jesus. There were family games and raffles. The day ended with a Eucharistic Procession and Holy Mass, and dinner. The day focused on prayer for the conversion of all, that they may seek God in the Eucharist to guide them as a united family.
Luke P. Rubino, a senior at Naples High School and St. Ann Catholic School Class of 2019, achieved Eagle Rank from the Boy Scouts of America-Southwest Florida Council/Alligator District with Troop 165, now affiliated with St. Ann Parish in Naples. Luke was also awarded the Good Citizenship Award presented by the Marine Corps League (E.T. Brisson Detachment #063) of Naples on Nov. 13, 2022, in the Parish Hall.
Father Luis Pacheco, Pastor of St. Paul Parish in Arcadia, recently welcomed and blessed a new group of altar servers. The blessing took place Nov. 13, 2022, for the boys and girls who completed a training program. These servers will now be able to serve at Masses each week.
The Bishop Verot Catholic High School robotics program hosted two local robotics teams to work on their designs and programming in Fort Myers on Nov. 5, 2022. The “Java the Hutt” team was incredibly helpful, as they brought their robot and helped the Verot teams get their bots built and programmed to move. The students learned about the latest version of a competition robot. The Cypress Lake team shared ideas and were instrumental in getting a playing field constructed, while advising about which materials to purchase and use to help construct future Verot robots. Events like this are vital to the growth of robotics in Southwest Florida.
St. Martha Catholic School National Junior Honor Society hosted a Thanksgiving Festival for students in kindergarten through second grade in Sarasota on Nov. 14, 2022. The students decorated their own cookies, colored placemats, created turkeys, wrote what they are thankful for, played Thanksgiving Bingo and completed Thanksgiving Math.
More than 70 Scouts from across the Diocese of Venice took part in the annual 10 Commandment Hike on Sept. 24, 2022, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice. The Scouts walked the grounds, go from station to station where they were taught the lessons of the 10 Commandments, not just what they are, but also how not to violate them. Diocesan Scout Religious Award Coordinator Bob Paquette said he hoped the Scouts would gain valuable lessons that they can apply to their everyday life. A special patch was presented to each Scout after they were blessed by Diocesan Scout Chaplain Father Lawton Lang of St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota.
A Spanish-language marriage retreat took place Sept. 25, 2022, at St. Paul Parish in Arcadia. There were 60 couples who heard from speakers about the importance of having Christ accompany the couples as they live out their Sacramental Marriage, joined in union with God. Father Luis Pacheco, Administrator at St. Paul, said the retreat was a blessed time for all of the couples.
The Diocesan Scouting Religious Award Ceremony was held May 22, 2022, at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. Catholic National and Diocesan Awards were presented to Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and American Heritage Girls as well as to adult leaders. Diocesan Scout Chaplain Father Lawton Lang, as well Scout Leaders Jim Fetterman and Bob Paquette, presented the awards. The ceremony followed a Mass in the Cathedral where they were also recognized.
Congratulations to Blaire M., a first grader at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers, whose artwork now adorns the side of a Waste Pro recycling truck. Blaire won 1st Place in the Keep Lee County Beautiful and Waste Pro “Leave the Scene Clean” environmental art contest. The artwork included a caterpillar, flowers, trees, hearts and a butterfly with the words “Plant Trees.” The truck with Blaire’s artwork visited the school on May 19, 2022, for everyone to see.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane recognized all Catholic Scouts and members of comporable groups in the Diocese of Venice during the annual presentation of Religious Awards on May 16, 2021 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. Prior to the awards presentation about 100 Scouts, Scout leaders and family members, took part in Mass for the Ascension of the Lord Sunday which was celebrated by Bishop Dewane and concelebrated by Father Lawton Lang, Diocesan Scout Chaplain.
Of note at the awards ceremony was the presentation of the Pillars of Faith award to Bartosz Fabinski, of Boy Scout Troop 777 of St. Francis Xavier Parish. This award provides special recognition for youth in Scouting who earn all traditional Catholic Religious Medals: Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII. This is the first time this award has been presented to a Scout in many years as it requires earning key awards at various stages in beginning at the age of 6 or 7 and continuing to age 15 or older. To make this recognition possible this year, Bartosz was able to earn the Pope Pius XII award, the final award in the sequence.
St. William Parish Pastor, Father George Ratzmann, blessed the prayer garden on Feb. 2. Located on the northwest corner of the Parish property, the garden includes a walkway bridge, a full rosary with a cross laid into the ground with pavers, and there is a statue of Our Blessed Virgin Mary overlooking the entire area. There are also two benches for rest and prayer as well as a sign which serves to guide people in how to pray the rosary.
Noah Kumar is captain of the Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School Golf Team in Sarasota and has now cracked the top 100 nationally and is ranked 90th with Junior Golf Scoreboard. The Florida High School Athletic Association ranks Kumar the No. 1 high school golfer in the State of Florida. During his senior season with Cardinal Mooney, Kumar has an 18-hole tournament stroke average of 67.33, with six straight low round first place medal wins in a row. His nine-hole stroke average is 35.5 with a career low of 31. Kumar has been playing tournament golf since he was 10-years-old. He qualified to play in the U.S. Junior Amateur this past July and came in 12th in stroke play. Keep up the good work Noah!
Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated a Mass for the faculty and student of Ave Maria University in Ave Maria on Sept. 23, delayed from Sept. 2 when the Mass was cancelled because of Hurricane Dorian. During the mass the Bishop encouraged the students to grow in their faith and to carry the message of the Lord into the world. At the conclusion of the Mass, the Bishop presided over a commissioning ceremony for nine new theology professors, during which each took an oath and vowed to remain faithful to the teachings of the Church.
Scouts from across the Diocese of Venice gathered Sept. 21 for a 10 Commandments Hike at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice. The more than 100 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and American Heritage Girls learned about the 10 Commandments at different stations located along the internal road of the property. The Scouts were presented with an achievement badge for participation at the end of the day.
The Council of Catholic Women of the Eastern Deanery took part in a bi-lingual retreat Sept. 21 at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Avon Park. More than 70 women from parishes Hardee, Highlands, Hardee, Glades and Hendry counties took part. The retreat included presentations by a number of priests as well as group prayers with the praying of the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
A National Evangelization Team (NET) Ministries group held a one-day retreat for middle school students on Sept. 29 at St. Joseph Parish in Bradenton. The retreat included several talks by youth ministers who travel across the nation trying to inspire young people to open themselves up to the Lord. Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated the Mass for the retreatants and offered words of encouragement to the middle-schoolers for participating in the day and to the NET team for coming to the Diocese.
The Our Lady of Victory Knights of Columbus Council 3358 welcomed more than 200 to the 2nd Annual Sarasota Laps for Life at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. The event was opened by a blessing for Deacon William Ladroga and the runners and walkers followed a path for three laps to complete the 5K event. The top finishes finished in 17:35 minutes. The event helped to raise money to purchase for a new ultrasound for My Choice Pregnancy Center in Sarasota.
Designated as “Scouting Sunday,” the Mass was followed by an award ceremony in the Parish Hall to celebrate and recognize the girls and boys who commit themselves to scouting while remaining true to the Faith. Members of the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, American Heritage Girls (AHG) and the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society participated in the ceremony.
During a reception following Mass, Bishop Frank J. Dewane presented more than 250 awards, with some Scouts receiving multiple honors. The awards included: Rosary Series, Faith Series, Footsteps of American Saints, Modern Saints, Women in Scripture, Models of Faith, Child of God, Family of God, Mother Mary, Queen of the Rosary, Mary, the First Disciple, I Live My Faith, Priesthood Sunday, Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei awards. Each award requires the Scout to participate in different activities which help increase their Faith and become more difficult to earn as the Scout advances.
During the awards ceremony, Diocesan Scout Awards Coordinator Bob Paquette presented Dewane was presented with the Quality Diocese Award, which is given to a Diocese for its commitment to supporting Catholic Scouting. This is the 10th year in a row the Diocese of Venice has received this award.
