‘Year Of Celebration’ Closes

BOB REDDY | FC
Bishop Frank J. Dewane is joined by the priests at the altar during the Closing Mass of the “Year of Celebration” commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Diocese of Venice on Dec. 5 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Posted: 12.24.09

VENICE | For the past 12 months the Diocese of Venice has been celebrating its 25th Anniversary with a variety of special events intended to bring people together to remind them who they are as a faith community.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrated the closing Mass of the “Year of Celebration” Dec. 5 at Epiphany Cathedral, emphasizing the importance of how much the Diocese of Venice has grown in the past quarter-century thanks to the committed support of the priests, deacons, religious and particularly of the laity throughout that time.

“I hope this year punctuated who we are as a Catholic faithful,” Bishop Dewane said. “It is true that 25 years isn’t a lot of time, but so much has been accomplished that it is right that we celebrate those achievements.”

The Mass began with a procession of parish and school banners with recognized volunteers, such as the Knights of Columbus, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and the Order of Malta.

Concelebrating the Mass was Bishop Emeritus John J. Nevins, along with dozens of priests whom Bishop Dewane specifically thanked for the work they do each day without praise or recognition.
A special blessing and recognition was made by Bishop Dewane for more than 200 volunteers who serve the Diocese in parishes, schools and organizations.

These volunteers, along with countless others, helped build up the Diocese since it was founded by Pope John Paul II in 1984, Bishop Dewane said. When it was established, the Diocese included 10 counties from the existing Archdiocese of Miami, Diocese of St. Petersburg and Diocese of Orlando. The Diocese now has more than 250,000 Catholics in 56 parishes, one quasi-parish, seven missions, six chapels and 16 schools.

The “Year of Celebration” kicked off with a Mass in January at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, and a variety of events took place throughout the year including a Mass in each region of the Diocese. The first-ever Men’s Conference was held in February in Fort Myers with more than 700 men enjoying a day of fellowship, and the “Women of Faith, Women in Action” Conference was held in March in Naples. The first-ever diocesewide Youth Rally was held in Fort Myers in September, and a Walkathon for World Mission Sunday took place in October at four locations.

Other annual diocesan events used the “Year of Celebration” theme, such as the Peace and Justice Leaven Conference, the Bioethics Conference, Catholic Charity balls, Respect Life Prayer Vigils to end abortion, and two wedding anniversary Masses.

The “Year of Celebration” also included the Diocesan “Festival of Choirs” in November, an outdoor Mass at the Holy Eucharist Memorial in Bradenton and a celebration in honor of Bishop Nevins who celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest in June.

The “Year of Celebration” was highlighted by the ordination to the priesthood of three men and the ordination of four others as permanent deacons.

Bishop Dewane said that while the “Year of Celebration” may now be over, the spirit and sense of community that was created by bringing people together for so many different events to show their love of Christ must carry on into the next 25 years.   

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