Venice Bishop Restructures Curia, Names New Chancellor
An advisory body will review Safe Environment complaints as Mass returns to Fort Myers Beach and high school chaplains are appointed.
Bishop Emilio E. Biosca, O.F.M. Cap., bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida, announced a restructuring of the diocesan curia and a series of appointments, saying the changes followed “prayerful reflection, consultation, and exercising his lawful authority.”
Advisory committee and Safe Environment
He created a Bishop’s Advisory Committee (BAC) to assist with discernment on important diocesan matters. A preliminary meeting was held with Fr. David M. Vidal, vicar general; Fr. Robert Kantor, episcopal vicar; and Fr. John Belmonte, S.J., superintendent of Catholic education. The committee met on Friday, October 30, 2026, at the Catholic Center in Venice, with additional members to be appointed by the bishop.
Named to the BAC were Sr. Carmella DeCosty, SNJM, a religious leader with nearly three decades of service in the diocese, and Kenia M. Rodriguez Milanes, an organizational professional originally from the Dominican Republic who holds a law degree and a master’s in business law and economic legislation.
The committee’s first tasks include evaluating the Safe Environment Program, especially the process for receiving complaints and allegations, and the composition of the Diocesan Review Board. A new Adult Standards Board will also be created to address abuse between adults, including power, authority, financial, and sexual abuse.
Chancellor and other appointments
In the chancery, Volodymyr Smeryk concluded his service as chancellor effective October 23, 2026. Msgr. Robert R. Cannon was appointed chancellor that day. The diocese expressed appreciation for Dr. Smeryk’s years of service.
Msgr. Cannon, a priest of the diocese who was rector of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice from 1999 to 2003 and has served as judicial vicar, was chancellor of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, from 2016 to 2024 and retired as a colonel after military chaplaincy.
Fr. John Belmonte, S.J., was named episcopal vicar for education. Several priests were assigned as chaplains or associate chaplains at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples and Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers. Appointments for Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School remain pending; priests of the Northern Deanery will serve there in the interim under Msgr. Patrick Dubois and Fr. Belmonte.
Fr. Robert Murphy was named administrator of Ascension Mission in Fort Myers Beach while remaining pastor of St. Raphael in Englewood. Mass returned to Fort Myers Beach every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. beginning Sunday, November 1, 2026, at Bay Oaks Recreation Center.
The moves place governance, safeguarding review, Catholic education, and parish life under clearer lines of responsibility as the diocese continued its ordinary pastoral mission.