Fort Myers Beach Marks Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Ian With Memorial Mass at Church of the Ascension

Beach Talk Radio News reported on September 24, 2026 that the Diocese of Venice will hold a Mass of Remembrance at 9 a.m. on Monday, September 28, 2026, on the grounds of the Church of the Ascension at 6025 Estero Blvd on Fort Myers Beach. The date marks four years since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida in September 2022, an anniversary the Diocese is marking with an outdoor Mass at the same site where the original church once stood.

I am Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, and I sell across nine Southwest Florida markets including Fort Myers Beach. A parish marking this anniversary, and updating its own community on where its rebuild stands, is worth understanding on its own terms.

The Church of the Ascension, located on Estero Boulevard on Fort Myers Beach, was destroyed during Hurricane Ian in September 2022, according to Beach Talk Radio News. The parish has continued operating in the years since, and the Diocese of Venice has said the rebuild has been the plan from the start. Bishop Emilio Biosca Aguero was quoted by Beach Talk Radio News saying the Mass is meant to bring the community together "to pray for those who lost their lives, those who lost family or friends, those who lost their homes, and all those hurt by this devastating tragedy, the effects of which are still felt today."

Bishop Emilio Biosca Aguero of the Diocese of Venice will lead the Mass, according to Beach Talk Radio News, and he will be joined by priests from surrounding parishes: Monsignor Stephen McNamara of Church of the Resurrection, Father Lorenzo Gonzalez of St. Columbkille Parish, Father Jarek Sniosek of St. Leo Parish, and Father Bill Adams, a former pastor of Ascension Parish. The visiting priests are also expected to review the current state of the rebuild plans while they are on site.

Dan Beeman, the Diocese of Venice's director of building and construction, was quoted by Beach Talk Radio News saying the plan has always been to rebuild on the same site. Plans for a new church were presented to parishioners in October 2025 and were well received, according to that reporting. Beeman said that church, with some revisions, is still going to be built, but that rising construction costs and other factors have delayed the project and required changes to the original design. No completion date or cost figure was reported.

Nobody can honestly put a number on what a memorial event or a parish rebuild update does to what any specific property on the island is worth, and it is fair to be skeptical of anyone who tries. What this milestone does show is that institutions on Fort Myers Beach that were lost in Hurricane Ian continue to work toward rebuilding on their original sites, four years on, alongside the town's own infrastructure recovery. What that means for a given address still comes down to that address: its elevation, its insurance, and what condition it is actually in today.

Fort Myers Beach waterfront homes and Fort Myers Beach condos cover more of what is currently on the market on the island as that recovery continues.

A community milestone like this one is useful context if you are weighing a move to Fort Myers Beach, but it is not a substitute for the numbers that actually decide what a specific property costs to buy, insure and keep: elevation certificate status, flood insurance quoted for that exact address, association reserves where one applies, and what an inspection turns up. The home buying process walks through where each of those gets checked, in order, before you are ever under contract.

If you are weighing a property on Fort Myers Beach, including Fort Myers Beach boating homes or Fort Myers Beach luxury homes, get in touch or call (239) 300-1427 for a straight read on a specific address rather than the island in general.