Father Steven Clemente

Dear parishioners of St. Francis Xavier,

My name is Fr. Steve Clemente. I am grateful to be here with all of you as your new priest and Administrator. By way of introduction, I am originally from Massachusetts and am the second of two children. From about the age of six, I wanted to be a priest. As I grew up, this desire in my heart also grew ebbed and flowed over time, but with the help of God’s grace, the example of many holy priests, and the prayers and support of family and friends, I decided to enter the seminary in my mid thirties.

At World Youth Day in 2002, Saint Pope St. John Paul II encouraged all of us to trust in Christ, and, for those considering a possible calling to the priesthood or consecrated life, to be not afraid, as he put it, “to follow Christ on the royal road of the Cross!” These words of our late Holy Father were a great encouragement to me and remain with me to this day. I began daily to attend Mass and daily to spend an hour in prayer and weekly adoration before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The strength that I received through the Holy Eucharist gave me the final “push” to enter seminary in the fall of 2007, when I began my studies for the holy priesthood at Pope John XXIII. Two years into my time at Pope John XXIII, Bishop Dewane asked me to go to a Pontifical Beda College in Rome. During my time in Europe, I spent the summer of 2010 working on a papal visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom. I was charged in particular with preparations of the beatification mass for the of St. John Henry Newman.

In the spring of 2012, I graduated from the Angelicum with a Master’s degree in Theology, Later that year, in June of 2012 I was ordained a Deacon in St. Paul Outside the Wall in Rome and in October of 2012 I was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Venice at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice by Bishop Dewane. My first assignment as a priest was in Lakewood Ranch, FL at Our lady of the Angels, Next, I arrived here at St. Francis and spent two years here as I served with Father Anthony Hewitt. Later, I went to St. Kathern Drexel Parish in Cape Coral for another two years before ending up at St. William in Naples prior to coming back to St. Francis as Administrator.

I sincerely ask for your prayers and your patience with me as I do my best to serve you as your priest and Administrator. As your Administrator, I promise to pray for you, to accompany you, and to work with you to live and share our beautiful Catholic faith. Relying on the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier, let us begin this journey together.
Thank you in advance for your prayerful support.