Latest: Catholic Mass Returns to Fort Myers Beach November 1 All Saints Day

On Sunday morning, the chairs will be folded out in a gymnasium in Fort Myers Beach. For the first time in more than four years, the people of the Church of the Ascension will not have to leave their island to hear Mass.

The Diocese of Venice says the Mass will be celebrated in Fort Myers Beach every Sunday at 9:30am as part of the new Ascension Parish Mission. It begins on Sunday, November 1, 2026, All Saints Day, at the Bay Oaks Recreation Center, 2731 Oak Street.

Bishop Emilio Biosca has established the Ascension Mission, and Father Bob Murphy has been appointed as its administrator. Bishop Emilio will be the main celebrant at the first Mass, according to the diocese and The Florida Catholic.

Priests from the Fort Myers area and from across the diocese will celebrate the Masses that follow. The Masses will continue at Bay Oaks until a regular weekly Mass can safely be held on the grounds of the Church of the Ascension.

Hurricane Ian Destroyed Ascension Parish Buildings in 2022

About 50 parishioners of the Church of the Ascension took part in a meeting on October 8, 2026, to talk openly about the next steps for the island community. The community was devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022, including the destruction of many parish buildings, The Florida Catholic reports.

The meeting took place at Saint Raphael Episcopal Church because no facilities on the Ascension property are available. It followed a Mass of Remembrance on September 28, celebrated by Bishop Emilio, marking the fourth anniversary of the hurricane.

During that Mass, the bishop promised to keep parishioners informed about the next steps in rebuilding the parish. He also made arranging a Catholic Mass at a temporary location a priority, according to the report.

Bishop Emilio could not attend the October 8 meeting because of the passing of Bishop Emeritus Frank Dewane. Speaking on his behalf were Father Jaroslaw Sniosek, Father Bill Adams, Monsignor Stephen McNamara, and Father Bob Murphy.

Father Sniosek is pastor of Saint Leo the Great Parish in Bonita Springs. Father Adams was pastor of Ascension at the time of Ian, and Father Murphy is a former pastor of Ascension and the current pastor of Saint Raphael Parish in Englewood.

Dan Beeman, the diocese director of Building and Construction, also spoke at the meeting. He offered information on the approval of the site plan and efforts to tear down some of the buildings, according to the report.

Since 2022, the faithful have been travelling to attend Mass either at Saint Leo in Bonita Springs, or at Resurrection and Saint Columbkille in Fort Myers. A Sunday trip off the island became the normal shape of worship for a parish whose own buildings were wrecked.

Fort Myers Beach Mass at Bay Oaks Recreation Center at 9:30am

Two options were put before parishioners at the October meeting, The Florida Catholic reports. One was Mass at a local recreation center, and the other was setting up a temporary tent on the property while reconstruction took place.

The recreation center won out, and the diocese has now fixed the pattern. Mass will be held at 9:30am on Sundays, at Bay Oaks, beginning on All Saints Day.

The choice of All Saints Day is hard to miss. November 1 remembers all the saints, and for a community that has spent four years grieving what a storm took, the return of Mass on that day feels like a deliberate marker.

There is a seperate question that the October meeting left open, and it will shape the parish for years. Father Sniosek sought input on what the faithful prefer for the future, The Florida Catholic reports.

Some parishioners expressed a desire to save the existing parish church, while others are interested in something new. Each option is being carefully examined with the diocese, the town of Fort Myers Beach, and contractors, the report says.

That disagreement is not a quarrel. It is what happens when people love a building and also want a building that can stand, and both views were heard in the same room.

Readers following faith and community life in Florida can see related coverage in Christian relief groups rushing to Florida after Hurricane Isaias, in Christian aid groups rushing to the Gulf Coast after a hurricane, and in a prayer vigil for shooting victims in Tallahassee.

What Happens Next for Ascension Parish in Fort Myers Beach

For now, the most important fact is the simplest one. On Sunday morning, November 1, a community that has driven off its island for Mass since 2022 will gather close to home.

The chairs will be set out in a gymnasium, the bishop will celebrate, and a parish that has waited four years will hear, in its own town again, the words it has travelled to hear.

What comes after that first Sunday is still unwritten. The temporary home at Bay Oaks will serve until a safe weekly Mass can be held on Ascension's own grounds, and the longer argument over saving the old church or building something new has only just begun.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.