Bishop Frank J. Dewane to ordain two priests at Epiphany Cathedral celebration on July 15

VENICE — Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Venice, will ordain Transitional Deacons Alejandro Giraldo Roldán and Daniel Scanlan to the priesthood July 15 at 11 a.m. at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W., in Venice.

“This is one of the most beautiful and rarely seen sacraments in the Church,” Dewane said. “The Diocese of Venice relies on dedicated men who commit their lives to serving God; the diocese is blessed that these men have heard the call of the Lord, and responded.”

During the ceremony, Roldán and Scanlan will present themselves to serve God, the Church and the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice and his successors. They will also make a renewed commitment to celibacy and promise obedience.

Roldán: Born and raised in Colombia

Roldán, 29, a native of Colombia, has devoted nearly 11 years to discerning his vocation. A pivotal moment in his life was receiving his First Holy Communion. “It was at that moment and going forward that I experienced the love of God in a special way. That awakened my desire to become a priest.”

Roldán joined the Diocese of Venice as a seminarian in 2019. He studied at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami before going on to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. As a seminarian, Roldán served in a pastoral assignment at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish on Longboat Key, and a pastoral year at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota.

Roldán will be vested during the ordination by the Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas More, Rev. Lawton Lang, and will also celebrate his first Mass as a priest at St. Thomas More on July 16 at noon.

Scanlan, 28, was born and raised in Fort Myers in a large family, the seventh of 11 children, before they moved to Ave Maria. When he was 13, he had his first thought about becoming a priest when he heard his oldest sibling tell the family about his own discernment to the priesthood.

“I think I was fascinated because I never considered how one became a priest," Scanlan said. "I didn’t even know what a seminary was … this was a big moment in my life because the thought that my own brother might become a priest made this vocation become real and personal to me.”

Scanlan: Bound for Washington, D.C.

Scanlan first studied at Ave Maria University before deciding to become a seminarian at St. John Vianney College Seminary. He later studied in Rome at the Pontifical North American College and received a degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Most recently, he initiated his studies in moral theology at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce.

Following his ordination, Scanlan will transfer to the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., to study for his licentiate of Sacred Theology of Marriage and Family.

Since joining the Diocese as a seminarian, Scanlan has served in pastoral assignments at St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Myers; Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles in Bradenton; St. Francis Xavier in Fort Myers; St. Joseph in Bradenton; and St. Katharine Drexel in Cape Coral.

Scanlan will be vested during the ordination by his eldest brother, Father Eric Scanlan, Pastor of Incarnation Parish in Sarasota, and will celebrate his first Mass as a priest on July 16 at 10 a.m. at Ave Maria Catholic Church in Ave Maria.

All are encouraged to attend the ordination, Dewane said. “It is important that the faithful support each ordination as the priests being ordained are a future link to the continuation of the sacraments,” Dewane said.

The ordination will also be livestreamed on facebook.com/epiphanycathedral and on the cathedral website, epiphanycathedral.org.

The Diocese of Venice includes 61 parishes, 15 schools and serves an estimated 250,000 Catholics in 10 counties. For more information, visit dioceseofvenice.org.

Submitted by Karen Barry Schwarz

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bishop Dewane to ordain two priests at Epiphany Cathedral celebration