The Diocese of Venice in Florida () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory–or diocese, of the

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in southwest

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the United States. It was founded on June 16, 1984. Frank Dewane has been bishop since 2007. The Diocese of Venice in Florida is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Miami.

Territory

The Diocese of Venice includes ten counties on the west coast of southern Florida.

History

Background

Early expeditions

The first Catholic presence in southwest Florida was the expedition of the Spaniard Juan Ponce de León, who arrived on the Gulf Coast in 1513. Hostility from the native

Calusa The Calusa ( , Calusa: *ka(ra)luś(i)) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous Indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands o ...

people prevented him from landing. De Leon returned to the region with a colonizing expedition in 1521, landing near either Charlotte Harbor or the mouth of the

Caloosahatchee River The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National ...

. His expedition included 200 men, and several priests were among them. In 1539, Spanish explorer

Hernando De Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

landed near present day Port Charlotte or San Carlos Bay. He named the new territory "La Bahia de Espiritu Santo," in honor of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

. DeSoto led an expedition of 10 ships and 620 men. His company included 12 priests. The De Soto expedition later proceeded to the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

area and then into central Florida. The Spanish missionary Luis de Cáncer arrived by sea with several Dominican priests in present day Bradenton in 1549. Encountering a seemingly peaceful party of Tocobaga clan members, they decided to travel on to Tampa Bay. Several of the priests went overland with the Tocobaga while Cáncer and the rest of the party sailed to Tampa Bay to meet them. Arriving at Tampa Bay, Cáncer learned, while still on his ship, that the Tocobaga had murdered the priests in the overland party. Ignoring advice to leave the area, Cáncer went ashore, where he too was murdered. The Spanish attempted to establish another mission in the Tampa Bay area in 1567, but it was soon abandoned. In 1565, the Spanish explorer

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as ...

, the founder of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

and Governor of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

, brokered a peace agreement with the Calusa peoples. This agreement allowed him to build the San Antón de Carlos mission at Mound Key in what is now Lee County. Menéndez de Avilés also built a fort at Mound Key and established a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

. San Antón de Carlos was the first Jesuit mission in the Western Hemisphere and the first Catholic presence within the Venice area. Juan Rogel and Francisco de Villareal spent the winter at the mission studying the Calusa language, then started evangelizing among the Calusa in southern Florida. The Jesuits built a chapel at the mission in 1567. Conflicts with the Calusa soon increased, prompting Menéndez de Avilés to abandon San Antón de Carlos in 1569.

Further development

After the end of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

in 1763, Spain ceded all of Florida to Great Britain for the return of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Given the antagonism of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Great Britain to Catholicism, the majority of the Catholic population in Florida fled to Cuba. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Spain regained control of Florida in 1784. In 1793, the Vatican changed the jurisdiction for Florida Catholics from Havana to the Apostolic Vicariate of Louisiana and the Two Floridas, based in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In the

Adams–Onís Treaty The Adams–Onís Treaty () of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Spanish Cession, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty,Weeks, p. 168. was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to ...

of 1819, Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States, which established the

Florida Territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

in 1821. In 1825,

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

erected the Vicariate of Alabama and Florida, which included all of Florida, based in Mobile, Alabama.In 1858, Pius IX moved Florida into a new Apostolic Vicariate of Florida, which in 1870 was converted into the Diocese of St. Augustine, which included the Venice area. After the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1865, Catholic missionaries from dioceses in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, St. Augustine, and

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, began visiting the Venice area. In 1889, the Venice area was placed under the jurisdiction of the Jesuit Order in Tampa, with Bishop John Moore requesting that the Jesuits cover Hillsborough County southward to

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

. Jesuit priests made regular visits to Bradenton, Fort Myers, Arcadia, and adjacent missions. The first missions established by Jesuits in southwest Florida were: * Sacred Heart in Bradenton (1868) * Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (later St. Francis Xavier) in Fort Myers (1878) * St. Paul in Arcadia (1882) * Sacred Heart in Punta Gorda (1888) * St. Martha in Sarasota (1889) In the early years of the 20th Century, the following parishes were established in the Venice area: * St. Michael in Wauchula (1915) * St. Joseph in Bradenton (1915) * St. Catherine in Sebring (1918) Epiphany Parish, the first in Venice, was established as a mission in 1935. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bishop Joseph P. Hurley of St. Augustine started a program of purchasing property throughout Florida to develop new parishes for the increasing Catholic population. He also recruited priests from the northern states and Ireland. St. Ann's, the first parish in Naples, opened in 1950.

Establishment

Diocese of Venice in Florida Pastoral Center

The Diocese of Venice in Florida was erected by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1984 from parts of the Archdiocese of Miami and the Dioceses of Orlando, and St. Petersburg; the pope named John J. Nevins, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami, as the founding bishop. Nevins built a memorial to the

eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

and a memorial cross in 1994 at De Soto National Memorial in Bradenton. This was to honor the priests from the Cáncer expedition who were killed there in 1549. In 2006, Frank Dewane from the Diocese of Green Bay was appointed as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Diocese of Venice by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

Sex abuse

Reverend Charles Cikovic pleaded guilty in 1993 to sexual battery on a child and of lewd and lascivious assault on a child. His victim was a 13-year-old girl whom he lured into a sexual relationship during 1992 and early 1993. Cikovic was sentenced to six months in prison and 20 years of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. The girl's family sued the diocese in February 1994; the diocese settled the lawsuit three years later. In August 2003, three Florida siblings sued the Diocese of Venice in Florida and Bishop Nevins, alleging sexual molestation by Reverend William Romero, a former diocesan priest. Between 1979 and 1982, while in a sexual relationship with their mother, Romero allegedly sexually abused the children in Hobe Sound. After receiving allegations against Romero in May 2002, Nevins suspended him from ministry. The plaintiffs said that the diocese had known of previous complaints against Romero when he served in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

years before. The diocese ultimately settled four lawsuits involving Romero. In November 2005, a St. Petersburg man filed a lawsuit against Nevins and the diocese, claiming that he was sexually abused as a minor by Reverend George E. Brennan. The plaintiff claimed to have been sodomized in 1984 four times at Incarnation Catholic Church in Sarasota. The suit said that Nevins covered up the alleged crime. Brennan had been arrested in 1991 during a police sting operation against prostitution after exposing himself to an undercover officer. He pleaded no contest to the charge. Reverend Bernard Chojnacki was arrested in June 2011 at Caspersen Beach in Venice on charges of

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

and battery. He was accused of exposing himself and grabbing the genitals of an undercover police officer. The diocese immediately placed Chojnacki on administrative leave. The diocese settled a lawsuit with a Fort Myers man in 2014 regarding Reverend Jean Joseph from Holmes Beach. The plaintiff claimed that Joseph sexually abused him in the 1990s. Joseph was ultimately removed from his posting and eventually laicized. Robert Little, a lay minister at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fort Myers, was arrested in January 2014 on

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

charges of lewd or lascivious behavior on a victim between ages 12 and 16. The victim was a special needs 13-year-old whom Little sexually abused several times at a condo. In a

plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

, Little was sentenced to three days in jail and ten years probation. The victim's family sued the diocese for $5 million in September 2014, claiming that it was negligent in its supervision of Little. A second family sued the diocese that same month, saying that a ten-year-old boy had been assaulted.

Bishops

Bishops of Venice

# John Joseph Nevins (1984 – 2007) # Frank Joseph Dewane (2007 – present,

2006–2007)

Education

High schools

* Bishop Verot High School – Fort Myers * Cardinal Mooney High School – Sarasota * St. John Neumann High School – Naples * Rhodora J. Donahue Academy – Ave Maria * Institute for Catholic Studies and Formation – Peace River

Elementary schools

* Epiphany Cathedral School – Venice * Incarnation School – Sarasota * Rhodora J. Donahue Academy –

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

* St. Ann School – Naples * St. Andrew School – Cape Coral * St. Charles Borromeo School – Port Charlotte * St. Catherine Catholic School – Sebring * St. Elizabeth Seton School – Naples * St. Francis Xavier School – Fort Myers * St. Joseph School – Bradenton * St. Martha School – Sarasota

Special needs schools

St. Mary Academy at Bishop Nevins Academy – Sarasota

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Venice Official Site

Detailed parish information
{{authority control Christian organizations established in 1984

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

1984 establishments in Florida