A date has been set to install the new Catholic Diocese of Venice bishop in Florida.
Bishop-elect Emilio Biosca Agüero at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 11, will succeed Bishop Frank J. Dewane who has served since 2007.
The installation will be at St. John XXIII Catholic Church, 13060 Palomino Lane, in Fort Myers.
The Mass will be celebrated by Rev. Thomas Wenski,Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Miami, who will be the principal ordaining bishop.
“After his ordination and installation, the new bishop assumes the leadership of an estimated 260,000 Catholics in Southwest Florida,” said a news release from the Diocese of Venice.
Biosca, a Capuchin Franciscan priest, will be the third shepherd of the Diocese, after Dewane and Bishop John J. Nevins (1984-2007).
Who is Emilio Biosca Agüero
Biosca Agüero, an immigrant advocate, 61, speaks Spanish and Tok Pisin (a Creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea), according to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Biosca is a member of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Province of Saint Augustine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has served as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., since 2019.
According to USCCB, Biosca:
Previous assignments include:
“Episcopal Ordination is the sacramental rite thatconfers the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, elevating a priest to the episcopacy, the order of bishops, who share with the Pope the pastoral care for the entire Church,” said the Diocese news release.
“Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Biosca to the Diocese of Venice in Florida on May 13, 2026, when the HolyFather accepted the resignation of Bishop Frank J. Dewane, who had submitted a request to retire at age 75 as is required by canon law.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New Diocese of Venice bishop will be installed on this date
Reporting by Dave Osborn and Kim Luciani, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Osborn and Kim Luciani, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
