On July 25, 2006 Bishop Frank J. Dewane was installed as only the second bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida. Three months prior to his ordination, on April 25 Pope Benedict XVI named him coadjutor bishop of the diocese.

To assume his new role as spiritual leader of 250,000 Catholics in Southwest Florida, Bishop Dewane left his position as Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, a post he had held at The Vatican since 2001. The primary responsibility of the Pontifical Council is to promote justice, peace, development and human rights world-wide. As Under Secretary, then-Monsignor Dewane was an official delegate of the Holy See to numerous international conferences and world summits.

Prior to his work on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Bishop Dewane served on the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" for six years, from 1995 to 2001. Cor Unum is considered the charitable arm of the Holy Father.

In 1991 Bishop Dewane first became a delegate for the Vatican when he was appointed to serve as a member of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York City. He had been serving in the Diocese of Green Bay as assistant pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Bishop Dewane currently serves on the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Committee on National Catholic Rural Life which examines rural areas and determines what the Church is doing to help. As a member of the Florida Catholic Conference Bishop Dewane sits on the Committee for Farmworker Justice and Immigration.

Bishop Dewane was born in Green Bay on March 9, 1950, the third child of Eleanor and Ben Dewane, devout Irish-Catholics who owned and operated a dairy farm. St. James Parish in Cooperstown, WI was the center of community life for the Dewane family, which included four children. After high school graduation Bishop Dewane attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences. He then earned a Master’s Degree in International Administration from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Prior to entering the seminary, Bishop Dewane worked for the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Moscow, Russia, and then for a subsidiary of PepsiCo in New York City.

Bishop Dewane began his studies for the priesthood at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., where he completed one year of philosophy. He then studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. While in Rome, Bishop Dewane also completed advanced studies in canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

On July 16, 1988, Bishop Dewane was ordained to the priesthood and appointed to the Diocese of Green Bay as assistant pastor. He also worked for the diocesan Tribunal.

CHRONOLOGY:

1950-born in Green Bay, WI, to Eleanor and Ben Dewane.
1988-Ordained to the priesthood
1988-1991 Assistant pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Green Bay
1991-1995 Member of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York City
1995-2001 Pontifical Council "Cor Unum,” Rome
2001-2006 Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Rome
April 2006 Coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida
July 2006 Ordained as Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida

BOARDS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Member of Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace
Pontifical North American College in Rome Board of Directors Treasurer
USCCB National Catholic Rural Life Conference President of the Board of Directors
USCCB Advisory Group on Interreligious Relations to the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Catholic Legal Immigration Network Board of Directors
Holy Land Foundation Board of Directors
Florida Catholic Conference Committee for Farmworker Justice and Immigration.
Ave Maria University Board of Trustees
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Leo University
Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Chaplain ad honorum to the Order of Malta
Episcopal Advisor to the Daughters of Isabella
Third Degree Knights of Columbus

WORLD CONFERENCES AND OTHER INFORMATION:

1992, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Conference on Environment and Development
1994, Cairo, Egypt - Conference on Population and Development, Cairo
1995, Beijing, China – Women and Development, Beijing (China);
1995, Copenhagen, Denmark - World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen
1996, Istanbul, Turkey - Conference on Human Settlements
1998, Rome, Italy - Diplomatic Conference instituting the International Criminal Court
2001, Durban, South Africa - World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban
2002, Monterrey, Mexico - Conference on Financing for Development
2003, Kyoto, Japan - Third World Water Forum
2003, Cancun, Mexico - Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization, Annual Meetings of the Board of Directors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
2006, Mexico City, - Fourth World Water Forum
May 2007 - Member of an international delegation of Church leaders on a mission to press G8 European leaders to honor commitments made to aid Africa.