News

New bishop possesses many skills

By Tony Staley, Pat Kasten and Jeff Kurowski
Compass staff

	Msgr. Frank Dewane

A priest of the Green Bay Diocese, who on Tuesday was named Coadjutor Bishop of Venice, Fla., has numerous skills and a wonderful ability to work with people, say family and friends.

Bishop-designate Frank Dewane served in the Green Bay Diocese from his ordination on July 16, 1988, until June 24, 1991, when he began a series of three assignments with the Vatican, first at the United Nations and then in Rome.

"My first meeting with him occurred the summer after I became Bishop of Green Bay when he came home," said Bp. David Zubik. "He introduced himself. I was immediately struck by what a friendly man he is. In conversations I've had with him, he is clearly a very bright man. He is very much in love with the church. His gifts and talents are recognized worldwide."

Fr. Dan Felton, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Manitowoc, has known the newly appointed bishop since they studied together in Rome in the 1980s.

	Related articles: from April 28, 2006 issue: • Green Bay priest named Florida bishop   Sidebar: Biography   Sidebar: New bishop represented Vatican in many locales • Bp. Zubik: News brings great joy to diocese • Bridging the Gap by Bishop David Zubik --     Bridging the Gap: A new bishop!

"I'm not surprised he was appointed a bishop," Fr. Felton said. "He has a lot of experience working with various organizations in Rome. He's always had a great sense of people and has a broad background in a number of areas. He also speaks a number of languages."

He also "has great social skills and a way of engaging people," Fr. Felton said. When Fr. Felton was pastor at St. Raphael Parish, Oshkosh, Msgr. Dewane often assisted in the parish when he was home visiting his parents, Ben and Eleanor. "He was very much at home at St. Raphael's. He's a good liturgist and a great preacher. People liked him and looked forward to his visits."

Msgr. John Dewane, retired vicar general for the Green Bay Diocese, said his cousin "has a great passion for dealing with social concerns - Food for the Poor, Respect Life. His appointment will be a loss to the Office of Social Concerns in Rome."

Fr. Doug LeCaptain, pastor of St. Raphael Parish, Oshkosh, and former director of vocations for the Green Bay Diocese, said he met Bishop-designate Dewane in Rome when he would visit the diocese's seminarians studying there.

"He has always been supportive of our guys in formation in Rome," Fr. LeCaptain said. "I always appreciated his ability to find fine restaurants in Rome."

Fr. LeCaptain said he was even more impressed with the care the Bishop-designate showed for his mother when she was living in a nursing home in Oshkosh. "I was impressed that he kept in contact and had good visits with her."

Fr. Tom Reynebeau, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Oshkosh, echoed that comment. "He was very faithful in coming back and helping with his mother before she died," he said.

During Christmas and Easter visits to his family, he would assist at Sacred Heart, Fr. Reynebeau said. He was "very open to ministry" and enjoyed visiting with people. "Many people in the parish have followed him in Rome and visited him there," Fr. Reynebeau said.

Bishop-designate Dewane grew up on a dairy farm in Cooperstown, a rural community 20 miles southeast of Green Bay, with his sisters Mary Dewane Anderson, Phoenix, and Peggy, a special education teacher at Oshkosh West High School, and his brother, John, also of Oshkosh.

"We're very happy for him and the family," Peggy said. "Wherever he serves he will do well. He's a good priest with strong ties to our home diocese of Green Bay."

Peggy said when her brother was at the United Nations, she was living in New York and often saw him. She also visited him when he attended the North American College in Rome.

His brother, John, said he was surprised and happy for his younger brother. He said they had a typical northeast Wisconsin childhood - "growing up on a small dairy farm and helping out with chores."

News of the appointment will be exciting for the people of Cooperstown, said Fr. Ron Colombo, pastor. "The people here are very proud of him. They are very proud of his great work in Rome."

Because his parents lived in Cooperstown until about 10 years ago, when they moved to Oshkosh, he would concelebrate Mass on home visits a couple times a year, Fr. Colombo said.

"He was very good to his folks," Fr. Colombo said. "We joke here that Cooperstown in New York has the Baseball Hall of Fame, but here in Downtown Cooperstown, we have the 'Spiritual Hall of Fame.' The people will rejoice when hearing this great news."

"You can never take the Cooperstown out of the boy," Fr. Felton said. "That's a blessing. He really appreciates his roots and his family's heritage. He embodies that and will bring that to his new role."

Bp. Zubik spoke of the newly appointed bishop's passion for service to the church. "I think he will do a great job for the Diocese of Venice," he said.

"One of the things that stands out about his life is that he was obviously successful in whatever area he worked," Bp. Zubik said. "Clearly he could have become a success in anything he chose to do. Underneath all that there was a deep love for Jesus and a deep love for the church that brought him to respond to the call to become a priest. Also the fact that he has been willing to serve not only locally and nationally, but internationally, especially at the Vatican, really says that he has the freedom to respond to the call of Jesus in whatever way the Lord was asking him to serve the church."

The naming of a local man as a bishop is "a recognition of the strong faith that's in our diocese," Bp. Zubik said. "Any time that a native son is appointed a bishop, that's cause for great joy in the local church. I have great, great respect for Frank and I know he will do very well, but we still need to pray for him. The challenges that face a bishop today are multiple."