Seminarian Instituted as an Acolyte
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.
Junior reaches scoring milestone
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.
Kinder surgeons’ scrub in
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!
Soccer team dream season ends
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.
Schools share Valentines in community
Two Diocese of Venice Catholic high schools took time out this Valentine’s Day to give back to the community. Students at St. John Neumann Catholic School in Naples were thinking about the special day for a few weeks in many homeroom classes, as well as the Spanish Club, taking time to make cards for local assisted living facilities, as well as for the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco at the Provincial House, in New Jersey. Another class took note of where they saw love at the Naples school. Members of the Bishop Verot Catholic High School National Honors Society in Fort Myers hosted a Valentine’s Day celebration for clients of Special Populations in Cape Coral, a program for adults and children with intellectual disabilities which strives to promote independence.
Seventh graders enjoy high school experience
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.
Hands-on science is key
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.”
In the coming months there will be the Ordination to the Priesthood of three men, the Diocesan Phase of the Synod on Synodality, Masses for couples celebrating significant wedding anniversaries, a first-time joint Men’s and Women’s Conference, a continuing initiative to curb the impacts of pornography on society, opportunities to promote the sanctity of life, and learning experiences of various types.
The Office of Respect Life will be busy throughout 2022 with a variety of activities, all to raise awareness about important issues regarding the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. First up is the 24th annual Sarasota Prayer Walk for Life on Tuesday, Jan. 18, outside of the Planned Parenthood in downtown Sarasota. Bishop Dewane will celebrate Mass at 8:30 a.m. at St. Martha Parish, 200 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. A bus will shuttle participants to the abortion center on Central Avenue to circle the block in prayer as many times as desired. The walk coincides with the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade court decision which paved the way for legalized abortion in the U.S.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc., will be hosting several events to support its more 30 than programs throughout the Diocese. First up on Wednesday, Jan. 19, is the “Celebration of Hope Luncheon” to benefit the programs in Lee, Hendry and Glades counties, The Luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m., at the Lexington Country Club, 16257 Willowcrest Way, Fort Myers. For tickets to this event, please contact Victoria Guevara at 
Leadership of the Southwest Florida Guild of the Catholic Medical Association met with Bishop Frank J. Dewane on Oct. 28, 2021 at the Catholic Center in Venice. The leadership provided Bishop Dewane with their annual report on their latest activities.
Present for the ordination were Deacon Chami’s immediate family and a few from his extended family. Also present in Rome was Bishop Frank J. Dewane who was one of the principle concelebrants; Father Alexander Pince (ordained in July 2021 and is completing his studies in Rome); as well as Diocesan Seminarians Daniel Scanlan (the cross-bearer for the Ordination Mass) and Joseph Doherty who are both studying at the Pontifical North American College.
Since joining the Diocese as a seminarian, Deacon Chami has served pastoral assignments at St. Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs, Incarnation Parish in Sarasota, Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish in Bradenton and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fort Myers.
As a part of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” Pope Francis has invited every Diocese in the world to inaugurate the beginning of the Synod with an opening Mass. In the Diocese of Venice, this opening Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 17, 2021, at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave., Venice. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this Mass. In this Diocesan Phase of the Synod, Catholics in the Diocese of Venice are encouraged to participate in listening sessions, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
The group gathered for the annual Convocation, a multi-day retreat which allows time for reflection and fellowship, from Aug. 2-5, 2021, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice.
One way to remain open to the Holy Spirit is through encounters with others in ones life, the Bishop continued. Building upon a theme from the Gospel reading of the day which was about the miracle with the Canaanite woman.
The multi-day retreat occurs at the end of summer as a time of prayer and reflection before each man returns to his respective seminary. During the week they heard from retreat leader Father Rich Pagano, a priest from the Diocese of St. Augustine.
The newly ordained responded to a particular call in their life and evidenced their response in a profound way by coming forward for ordination. The two men reflected afterwards about the powerful emotion of the moment that brought about an inner calm. They also expressed the genuine joy and love for the Lord they each witness.
Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a priest is transformed and marked indelibly as an instrument through which others receive the Sacraments, Bishop Dewane added. It is through ordination that Harris and Pince have a new beginning, configured to Christ.
When the Rite of Ordination began, the elect were called forth by Father Shawn Roser, Diocesan Vocations Director, and upon hearing their names, each stood and answered “Present.” After the homily, individually, the ordinand knelt before the Bishop so as to promise respect and obedience to him and his successors. They then prostrated before the altar for the Litany of Supplication/Litany of Saints. The whole assembly joined in the prayer which invoked God’s Grace and the intercession of the Saints in heaven.
The 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 their ministry fruitful. Next, the Bishop presented each new priest with the chalice and paten which they 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.” He repeated this commission, once each for the newly ordained priests.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist then followed. The new priests 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, they offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, acting in the person of Christ. From this sacrifice their whole priestly ministry will draw its strength.
Father Harris, 54, was born in Miami and spent his childhood alternating between living in Florida and Connecticut. He earned degrees in Commercial Art and then Business Marketing and Management from Florida Metropolitan University, before earning a Master’s in Education from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., and worked at interior design, marketing, career development and teaching.
It was in first grade when Deacon Harris proclaimed he was going to become a priest. “We were all asked what we wanted to do with our lives. That was my answer,” he said with a smile. “I was reminded of that moment by my family when I made the announcement of my intention of entering seminary. The idea of becoming a priest was always floating around and pulled at me at times in the intervening years before I finally answered the call.”
