Bishop Dewane recalled for his ‘remarkable legacy of faithful service’ to Church

VENICE, Fla. (OSV News) — Retired Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, who led the southwest Florida diocese for nearly 20 years before his retirement in May, died Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. He was 76.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Oct. 14 at St. John XXIII Catholic Church in Fort Myers, followed by interment in the Bishops’ Crypt at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.

Bishop Emilio E. Biosca, who succeeded Bishop DeWane as shepherd of the Venice Diocese, announced the death of his predecessor “with profound sadness, yet with faith in the promise of the Resurrection.” The bishop was “surrounded by close family and friends,” he added.

“As we mourn the loss of Bishop Dewane, we also give thanks to God for the gift of his life and for the many ways in which he served the Church,” Bishop Biosca said in an Oct. 7 statement.

“Bishop Dewane leaves behind a remarkable legacy of faithful service to the Church. For nearly two decades, he served as the spiritual shepherd of the Diocese of Venice,” the prelate continued. “His years as a priest and bishop were marked by a sincere love for Christ, His Church, and the people entrusted to his pastoral care, especially those most in need.”

When Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Msgr. Dewane as the coadjutor bishop of the Venice Diocese on April 25, 2006, the priest was serving as the undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican. In Venice, his episcopal ordination was July 25, 2006, and as coadjutor he assisted Bishop John J. Nevins, the diocese’s founding bishop. When Bishop Nevins retired Jan. 19, 2007, Bishop Dewane automatically succeeded him.

During Bishop Dewane’s tenure, according to the diocese, 450-plus affordable housing units were constructed, including for seniors and farmworkers, with over 100 units currently under construction. Thirty-four priests and 28 deacons were ordained, and six new parishes, one new mission and two new Catholic schools opened.

He was a former chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development (2016-2019). He also served on other USCCB committees, including the pro-life and international justice and peace committees and what is now the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation. He was episcopal liaison for Catholic Charities USA and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, or CLINIC.

Bishop Dewane was the current vice chairman of the board of governors for the Pontifical North American College and a member of the board of directors of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land. He served on numerous other seminary and university boards.

Upon his retirement in May, in a statement welcoming his successor, Bishop Dewane noted now-Bishop Biosca was coming to a diocese “that is growing at a rapid pace with families and individuals that evidence a vibrant faith and diverse backgrounds.”

He added, “It has been a great joy for me to have ministered here for the past twenty years. I am pleased and very proud of the Catholic Community of the Diocese, who they are and who they are becoming, by their witness to Christ.”

He thanked the priests, deacons, religious and “the joy-filled laity” for “being a wonderful family of faith, hope, and love.”

At an Aug. 6 celebration of the 20th anniversary of his episcopal ordination — July 25, 2006 — Bishop Dewane addressed more than 300 parishioners by saying, “We, the clergy, have done a lot over the past 20 years but none of this would have been possible without you, the church, the heart and hands of the diocese.”

Frank Joseph Dewane was born on March 9, 1950, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was the third of the four children of Ben and Eleanor Dewane, who owned and operated a dairy farm. He went to Denmark High School in Denmark, Wisconsin, where he played lineman on the football team. During his summer vacations, he worked at an appliance factory to pay for college.

He studied at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, graduating in 1972. He then attended American University in Washington, from 1973 to 1975, earning a master’s degree in international administration. In 1975, the future priest and bishop went to work for NBC in Moscow and later worked for a subsidiary of PepsiCo in New York City.

He spent a year studying philosophy at the University of Notre Dame (1983-1984) and went to Rome in 1984 to attend the Pontifical North American College. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, both in Rome.

Ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Green Bay in 1988, then-Father Dewane was appointed in 1991 to serve as a member of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York City. During that time, he represented the Holy See at several international conferences.

In 1995, he was transferred to the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and was later appointed undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the post he held when he was named coadjutor for Venice.

Bishop Dewane is survived by his brother John (Jack), and two sisters, Margaret (Peggy), and Mary, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

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