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Bishop Frank Dewane retires from Diocese of Venice
After 20 years of service to the Diocese of Venice, Bishop Frank Dewane is retiring and Emilio Biosca Agüero has been tapped to take his place. FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon reports.
VENICE, Fla. - The Diocese of Venice is preparing for a change in leadership as Bishop Frank Dewane announces his retirement after 20 years of service.
The transition marks a significant shift for a diocese that spans more than 9,000 square miles, reaching from Palmetto to Collier County. On Wednesday, Bishop Dewane, 76, introduced his successor, Bishop-elect Emilio Biosca Agüero, a Franciscan priest and former missionary.
"I’m ready to retire because I think we all have a contribution to make in our time in the world," Dewane said. "To me, the Lord sends what is needed and to me, he has sent what is needed here in this man."
The backstory:
Biosca was hearing confessions at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., when he received notice of the appointment from Pope Leo.
"It’s a big surprise. I’m still adjusting to the surprise, but certainly it means tremendous support from the Holy Father and Holy Church," Biosca said.
A Cuban American, Biosca spent more than a decade in Papua New Guinea and 12 years on a mission in Cuba. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and is still trying to figure out why Pope Leo chose him.
"Noting the work of evangelization is so important, and there is a Hispanic community and other immigrant communities here in the diocese, perhaps that has something to do with it," Biosca said.
Commitment to social welfare
During his recent tenure in Washington, D.C., Fr. Biosca led a multicultural congregation through a period of intense local strain after 95 of his parishioners were detained by ICE. Biosca noted that his role was simply to meet the community's immediate needs as they surfaced.
"I think the experience at Sacred Heart was that it grew that way. It grew naturally," Biosca said. "We didn’t go out to find a response. The response came because there were people who were looking for help and people from the parrish."
It is a commitment to social welfare that Bishop Dewane intends to maintain even after he retires.
"Where do we put our hearts these days, with whom and how," Dewane said. "All we have to look around and see is there are a tremendous amount of people who are suffering."
What's next:
Fr. Biosca will officially become bishop on July 11 during a church ceremony. He says his focus remains on leading the diocese.
"It means noting how God works in our lives. He invites us to do new things even if we are not ready or totally prepared, but to trust in god and begin to walk," Fr. Biosca Agüero said.
The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon through the Diocese of Venice and through interviews with Bishop Frank Dewane and Bishop-elect Emilio Biosca Agüero.