Diocese of Venice

Erected in 1984 from territory taken from the Archdiocese of Miami and the Dioceses of Orlando and Saint Petersburg, the Diocese of Venice covers ten counties across southwest Florida — from Manatee and Sarasota down through Lee and Collier to the Everglades edge. Its cathedral is Epiphany Cathedral in Venice. The diocese's 70 parishes include St. Martha in Sarasota, historically tied to the circus community and partly funded by European circus performers during the Great Depression.