Frank Joseph Dewane

Frank Joseph Dewane (born March 9, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Venice in Florida from 2007 to 2026.

Biography Early life and education Dewane was born on March 9, 1950, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is the third of the four children of Ben and Eleanor Dewane, who owned and operated a dairy farm. Frank Dewane attended Denmark High School in Denmark, Wisconsin, where he played lineman on the football team. During his summer vacations, he worked at an appliance factory to pay for college.

Dewane studied at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from 1968 to 1972, obtaining a bachelor's degree. He then attended American University in Washington, D.C., from 1973 to 1975, earning a Master of International Administration degree. After his graduation in 1975 from American University, Dewane worked for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in Moscow in what was then the Soviet Union. He later worked for a subsidiary of PepsiCo in New York City.

Dewane studied philosophy at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, from 1983 to 1984, then traveled to Rome in 1984 to attend the Pontifical North American College. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and canon law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, both in Rome.

Dewane, in April 2019, ordered Christopher Senk, the former pastor of St. Isabel Parish in Sanibel, Florida, to spend a year in penance and prayer. After a two-year investigation, the Congregation for Clergy in Rome had determined that Senk had improperly accepted thousands of dollars in gifts from Marion McIntyre. Her family claimed that McIntyre suffered from dementia during that period. Senk was suspended from pastoral ministry when the investigation began.

On May 13, 2026, Pope Leo XIV accepted his retirement after reaching the customary retirement age of 75.