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Priestly Ordination to be Livestreamed
Bishop Frank J. Dewane invites the faithful to watch, via a livestream, the Ordination to the Priesthood of Transitional Deacons Christian Chami, David Portorreal, and Michael Young at 11 a.m., Saturday, July 16, from Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The Ordination, presided over by Bishop Frank J. Dewane, will be livestreamed via the Cathedral at www.facebook.com/epiphanycathedral. Links will laso be available via the Diocesan website, www.dioceseofvenice.org, or the Cathedral website, www.epiphanycathedral.org. The livestream will begin a few minutes before 11 a.m. and be accessible later for those unable to watch live. Please note that you do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the livestream.
Profile of the three ordinandi
The Diocese of Venice relies on dedicated men who have committed their lives to serving God. Three such men will be ordained to the priesthood on July 16, 2022, at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.
Transitional Deacons Christian Chami, David Portorreal, and Michael Young have completed their priestly formation and have been called to ordination by Bishop Frank J. Dewane, who will be the ordaining prelate. The ordination will be at 11 a.m., at the Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W., Venice.
In addition to Bishop Dewane, the Mass will include a number of priests, deacons, religious, family and friends from across the Diocese. All are invited to attend the Mass and a reception following the ordination in the Epiphany Parish Center.
“This is one of the most beautiful and rarely seen Sacraments in the Church,” Bishop Dewane explained. “The Diocese of Venice is blessed that these men have responded to the Call to Holiness, which comes with great responsibility and accountability. At ordination these men are joined to the Bishops in the priestly office and are called to serve God’s people.”
Venice Diocesan Director of Vocations, Father Shawn Roser, added that the ordination is the final step to priesthood, but it is not the conclusion of their priestly formation. “This is just the beginning.”
Deacon Chami, born in Montreal, Canada, raised in Naples since the age of 4, is a graduate of Florida State University where he first seriously heard the call for a vocation to the priesthood. His family is originally from Lebanon.
An accomplished swimmer in high school, Deacon Chami found through adversity that there was more to life than “looking at the bottom of the pool. The Lord always works in mysterious patterns… I would reach new heights as a swimmer and get hurt. It was then I realized that I needed to put God at the center of my life. So, I started asking; let me know Jesus, in a way I had never known before.”
While at Florida State, Deacon Chami credits the Brotherhood of Hope, a religious order which runs the Catholic Student Union in Tallahassee, with teaching him how to pray with Scripture, pray silently, and how to properly discern.
“I just had this moment where I realized that saying yes to becoming a priest or religious brother didn’t cause a sadness in me,” Deacon Chami added. “Rather it was joy. Because ultimately I’d be living and working with the Lord – and I wasn’t losing anything, rather I was gaining something that I hadn’t seen before.”
Since joining the Diocese as a seminarian, Deacon Chami graduated from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and then studied at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Within the Diocese, he has served pastoral assignments at St. Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs, Incarnation Parish in Sarasota, Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish in Bradenton and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fort Myers.
Deacon Portorreal grew up in Northeast Ohio attending Jesuit-run Catholic schools and then graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, before entering film school at Florida State University. He moved to Los Angeles to break into the film industry trying to sell screenplays, get acting jobs and even tried his hand as writer/director. But the seeds of a priestly vocation were planted in grade school and as the years passed there was a growing restlessness that the Ministerial Priesthood was what God wanted in his life.
“There was always this restlessness,” Deacon Portorreal said about his calling, admitting that he focused on other things first but wasn’t finding peace. “I was told by a formation director in Los Angeles that I was never going to truly know the answer until I formally discern. I decided to leave my life behind and move forward with those seeds planted way back when. I like to say that God is the great course corrector; so all of the different twists and turns in my life the Lord has led me to this moment where I am at the cusp of being a priest and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Deacon Portorreal began his discernment with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at St. John Seminary in Camarilla, California. But his parents are retired in Naples, so he eventually transferred to become a seminarian within the Diocese of Venice. As a seminarian, Deacon Portorreal has had pastoral assignments at St. William Parish in Naples and St. Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs.
Deacon Young was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Mississippi before settling in North Carolina. He too heard the call to the priesthood from a young age, but also pushed it to the back of his mind when he joined the U.S. Navy and served for four years. It was there that he appreciated his faith more profoundly as access to a priest was rare while onboard a ship at sea.
When Deacon Young left the Navy, he became a law enforcement officer and special/enforcement agent. He later worked as a reentry program case manager for men and women transitioning from the Federal Bureau of Prisons back into society.
He described his calling to the priesthood as a series of moments when he received reinforcement to move forward, first with a career and then to a life in service to the Lord. “Some people have a calling early and some later in life. When you are ready, you know it. I always had good spiritual advisors who planted the seeds of my discernment, beginning with my parents. The advice was always to stay strong in the Faith, and here I am.”
Deacon Young earned a degree from John Wesley College in North Carolina and is a former member of a religious community who then transitioned to the Diocese of Venice. He recently graduated from Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, which caters to second-career vocations. Within the Diocese of Venice, he served pastoral summer assignments at Incarnation Parish in Sarasota and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice.
While Transitional Deacons Chami, Portorreal and Young are being ordained on July 16, there are another 13 men in the Diocese who are at various stages in their priestly formation, either in college or at a seminary where they have begun studies toward the ordained priesthood. The seminarians are currently engaged in various summer pastoral assignments.
Seminarians are supported by the Diocese of Venice through the Catholic Faith Appeal, the Knights of Columbus, the Council of Catholic Women and the generosity of individual parishes and parishioners. Parishioners from around the Diocese are encouraged to help support the seminarians in their studies and choice of vocation.
To contribute to the education of the seminarians, send a check to the Diocese of Venice, Office of Vocations, 1000 Pinebrook Road, Venice, FL 34285 or go to www.dioceseofvenice.org/ways-to-give. For more information about the seminarians or Vocations, contact Father Roser at 941-484-9543.
Totus Tuus (a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours”) is a summer Catholic youth camp program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic Faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness and Eucharistic worship. The camp is directed by a team of four missionaries and two Diocesan seminarians. Parish staff and volunteers augment the team and together they make the week one to remember for all who participate.
“The enthusiasm and wonder of the young children have been great,” Father Batista said. “Then, the engagement and excitement from the teens was incredible. I am having young kids come up to me at each break asking me questions about everything. That is amazing. To see their interest and excitement about Jesus, the Mass and everything about their Faith is very exciting.”
The Our Lady Queen of Heaven week engaged more than 100 children during the day and some 60 youth in the evening. This group also included children from St. Margaret Parish in Clewiston. This was followed by a week at St. Catherine Parish in Sebring, with participants (about 100 youth and 60 teens) also coming from St. James Parish in Lake Placid and Our Lady of Grace Parish in Avon Park.
Diocesan Seminarians Juan Contreras and James Gates are fully involved in the daily activities of the camp, taking charge of some classes of the younger campers and being team leaders for the older groups in the evenings.
Seeing the seminarians every day, in a relaxed setting, gives the campers of all ages a positive role model whom they can look up to and interact with, which is an opportunity they might not otherwise have. Some of their impactful actions by the seminarians are subtle: such as a compliment here, or a smile there, and perhaps a high five for a job well done. At other times, the seminarians teach the young children the basics of praying the Our Father and Hail Mary, or they are leaders in prayer, such as during the Liturgy of the Hours with the youth in the evening, or perhaps when they join in the crazy dancing and fun games.
After the final evening prayer with the youth at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, many of the teens sought out the two seminarians, as well as the other four missionaries, to personally thank them, often seeking a high-five, fist-bump or even a hug, always with a big smile.
Wyatt Plattner, a recent graduate of Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, won the 50th Southern Junior Championship at the Country Club of Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2022. To take the title, Plattner notched four birdies on the back nine holes to post a final-round 67, earning a three-shot win in the 54-hole event at 9-under-par 201. The Mooney grad will play at the college level at the University of Cincinnati beginning this fall.
Catholic Charities Adoption Services is a state-wide agency that provides counseling to birth parents, and provisions or resources to meet the needs of birth parents considering adoption planning. If you or a loved one would like to learn more, please call Joan Pierse at 941-355-4680.
Part way into its second week, the inaugural Totus Tuus Summer Camp for children and teens has been a great success. The opening week, June 6-10, 2022, at St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Cape Coral, brought in 50 children each day and 27 teens each evening. The second week, June 13-17, is at St. Agnes Parish in Naples and there are more than 100 children and 60 youth taking part. Among the group at St. Agnes were also children from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Immokalee.
Each day of the weeklong camp, the children and youth learn lessons about the importance of prayer, and ways to pray, from the basics of the Our Father and Hail Mary to the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
There is time for Mass each day with additional quiet reflective time in Eucharistic Adoration and three days when there is opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Mass portion of the day is more than participating in the important celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It is at this time during the camp when the children not only learn the various hymns but also learn about the different parts of the Mass and why they are so key to this important celebration. For example, when entering the Church, the children are brought to the Holy Water Font and taught how and why they are to respectfully dip their finger in the water and bless themselves.
Diocesan Seminarians Juan Contreras and James Gates are fully involved in the daily activities of the camp, serving as leaders in prayer and offering their discernment stories to the teens in the evenings. They serve as leaders when teaching about hearing the call of the Lord in one’s life, citing their own examples as a guide for others to follow.
There is a mid-week potluck during which families come and see firsthand what their children have learned as they perform skits or short plays about different aspects of their faith. The week concludes with a water day of outside fun and games.
Only one Parish hosts the camp each week. The Parishes hosting Totus Tuus this summer are: St. Katherine Drexel; St. Agnes in Naples; Our Lady Queen of Heaven in La Belle, June 20-24; St. Catherine in Sebring, June 27-July 1; St. John XXIII in Fort Myers, July 11-15; St. Joseph in Bradenton, July 18-22; St. Elizabeth Seton in Naples, July 25-29; and St. Patrick in Sarasota, August 1-August 5.
More than 30 people took part in the national “America Needs Fatima Rosary Rally” on June 4, 2022, in Fort Myers. The Rally was held at the corner of Daniels Parkway and Daniels Commerce Boulevard, and was focused on the Traditional Family and Public Prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to end abortion, and. The threat of rain kept some away as the region was under a Tropical Storm Warning at the time. Rally organizer Toni Holmlund said the weather cooperated and most of the drivers passing by were supportive.
St. Mary Academy won the Family Living Magazine’s Reader’s Choice 2022 award for Best Special Education School in the area! Parents with special needs children often find that a typical classroom setting isn’t ideal for their child. They may have tried the traditional classroom setting only to have their child struggle and fall behind academically. Now, imagine finding that perfect school, one that meets your child’s particular needs. From the moment you visit the secure campus, you realize St. Mary Academy is a very unique environment. To learn more about St. Mary Academy, please visit 
More than 150 volunteers came to the St. Joseph Food Pantry in Bradenton to help sort and store 50,000 pounds of food on May 14, 2022. The food was collected during the U.S. Postal Service Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
The St. Catherine Council of Catholic Women was re-established during a ceremony in Sebring on May 7, 2022. The installation ceremony included representatives from the Venice Diocesan Council of Catholic Women who aided in this process. The Council acts within the Parish to support, empower and educate Catholic women in spirituality, leadership and service. The installation was presided over by Father Jose Gonzalez, Pastor of St. Catherine.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul International President General Renato Lima de Oliveira visited members of the Sacred Heart Conference on May 5, 2022, in Punta Gorda. He congratulated the conference for their spirituality, friendship and their Vincentian Spirit. He was amazed at the size and ability of the conference to help the community in so many ways.
Deacons Baldarelli and Young were among 11 ordained at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Boca Raton by Most Rev. David L. Toups, Bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas. 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.
In his homily, Bishop Toups explained how Jesus was the Good Shepherd, and we must always be good sheep and follow the voice, and for the 11 men, that call is as deacons, and soon to be priests, all done with humble confidence and trust in the Lord.
Following the homily, the men approached Bishop Toups 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.
Deacon Baldarelli, 39, has been studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary since 2016. He previously graduated from John Carroll University in Ohio earning a degree in marketing. He worked in sales for 11 years prior to becoming a seminarian for the Diocese of Venice. As a seminarian, he had summer pastoral assignments at Holy Cross Parish in Palmetto and St. Paul Parish in Arcadia, and then completed a pastoral year at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. He said he benefitted from the sage wisdom of each of his priestly mentors.
Diocese of Venice Seminarians Michael Young and Alan Baldarelli Jr. will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate, along with nine others, at 11 a.m. April 2, 2022, at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Boynton Beach. Young is studying at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, while Baldarelli is studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. Presiding over the ordination is Bishop David Toups of the Diocese of Beaumont. The liturgy will be livestreamed at www.svdp.edu/live. As newly ordained Transitional Deacons, these men will be assigned to Parishes where they will exercise their ministry in preparation to become priests. Among many duties, they will preach, perform baptisms, witness marriages, as well as preside over wakes and funerals. Please join in praying for Michael and Alan as they take this important step in their vocational journey.
St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School’s 40th Anniversary Celebration Gala & Auction was a great success in Naples on March 26, 2022. Parents, priests, parishioners, and other supporters attended the event at the Spirit Center of St. Peter the Apostle Parish. It was a fun night of fellowship, dinner, music and dancing with silent and live auctions, and a Call to the Heart to fund a second Kindergarten classroom in the fall. Demand for enrollment at Seton is at an all-time high creating a great need for additional classroom and administrative space. The event raised approximately $200,000 benefiting the school’s ongoing Campus Expansion Program to meet the needs of the many families desiring quality Catholic education for their children. For more information about the school’s expansion plans, visit www.Saintelizabethseton.com/Giving.
Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor and author, was the guest speaker at the annual Faith & Ale – Faith & Wine Joint Event in Lee County at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers on March 24, 2022. Approximately 650 heard Immaculée’s presentation as she shared her amazing story of being a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. In addition to sharing the details of having lost her parents and brothers, her message centered around the topic of faith, hope and forgiveness. Faith & Wine Lee County is a Catholic faith lay-group which unites women of all backgrounds. A related program, Faith & Ale, is a Catholic men’s group and will host its final gathering of the season on April 21 at St. John XXIII Parish, 13060 Palomino Lane, Fort Myers, for a presentation by Dan Hesse on the topic, “Can Catholic Values Save Capitalism?” Hesse is a retired CEO of AT&T Wireless Services and Sprint. The program begins at 6 p.m., with pizza and refreshments for a $10 donation. Reservations are required – please register online at www.faithandale.com.
Second grade students at St. Joseph Catholic School in Bradenton completed a biography research project on March 25, 2022, which included making a presentation and dressing up as the historical figure they researched. The students also created posters, a wax museum and essays about the person. Among the historical figures chosen were Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Race for the Roses Gala, benefiting Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota, was held March 25, 2022, at the Grove in Lakewood Ranch. Supporters dressed in their favorite outfits fit for a day at the Kentucky Derby. Proceeds were targeting the creation of a new science and physics labs. Ginger Judge was this year’s recipient of the School Sister’s of Notre Dame Award for her continuous support of Cardinal Mooney.
The girls track team of Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria Parish came home from the Immokalee Meet on March 23, 2022, with seven gold medals, two silvers, five bronzes and winning the meet overall! The boy’s team did well, too, earning multiple medals and an overall third place team finish. Special recognition goes to Freshman Izzy Meyer who brought home three gold medals. The results are impressive taking into account this is only the second year the school has had a track team.
On March 28, 2022, students at St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral partnered with the St. Vincent de Paul Society to create “care packages” for the needy of Southwest Florida. The students had been collecting the items for weeks leading up to a packing session. Items included various products that promote personal hygiene.
Congratulations to Diocese of Venice Seminarian W. Pat Long, who was among 12 Instituted as an Acolyte on Feb. 9, 2022, at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. The installation was presided over by Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. The installation Mass plays an important role in the formation of the seminarians in their journey toward becoming priests. As an acolyte, each man’s primary role will be assisting the deacon and priest during Mass. They may also serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at Mass, bring Holy Eucharist to the sick, and participate in other tasks while aiding the priest and deacon during liturgical celebrations. Please join in praying for all of these men, but in particular Pat Long who is discerning his vocation to the priesthood for the Diocese of Venice.
Jordyn Byrd, a Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School basketball player recently reached the 1,000-point milestone in her career. She accomplished this milestone on Feb. 11, 2022, in Sarasota, during a victory which led to a regional playoff win. Jordyn also plays volleyball and in January was named 2021-2022 Gatorade Florida Volleyball Player of the Year. She has maintained a 3.72 GPA in the classroom and will begin her senior year of high school this fall. She has already committed to continuing her athletic and academic career at the University of Texas.
Future surgeons at St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota showed their skills in Christina Via-Reque’s Kinder Cardiology on Feb. 10, 2022! These doctors scrubbed in and worked on their patients to practice reading, writing, colors, motor skills, sounding out words, math and more!
The Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria Parish boy’s soccer dream season came to an end with a 2-1 loss in the Class 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal match on Feb. 9, 2022, to Bradenton Christian Academy. The Shamrocks’ Aidan Minter accounted for the only goal in the heartbreaking loss. The Shamrocks had earned a home field game by clinching a district title on Feb. 4. The team should be proud of their success and vow to do better next year.
Some 70 seventh graders from St. Martha Catholic School and St. Mary Academy in Sarasota enjoyed a Cougar Experience Day on Feb. 9, 2022, at Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School. In addition to a tour, the younger students took part in fun activities across the campus and heard from the high schoolers who shared what makes Mooney so special.
To ensure that students at St. Andrew Catholic School learn the necessary skills to function in a modern world, the use of iPads and technology is standard. However, experience using tools such as a microscope still serve a vital purpose in the learning process. On Feb. 9, the sixth-grade science class in Cape Coral used their microscopes to identify various elements as part of a larger STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, Math) curriculum. Of course, they were able to create images of the slide and save them on their iPads, but using the actual equipment made a real difference in the lesson.
Joseph Corboy Doherty, a Seminarian of the Diocese of Venice in Florida, was among a group of men who were conferred the Ministry of Lector, Jan. 16, 2022, in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at the Pontifical North American College, Vatican City State.
As part of the rite, the Archbishop placed the Holy Scriptures in the hands of each candidate and said, “Take this book of Holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of His people.”
