The Chancellor’s Office has been informed that Reverend Francis Henry (Fran) Dionne, 88, a retired priest of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg, passed away in the Lord on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, while in assisted living in Seminole, Florida, following a gradual decline in health over the past three years and a recent hospitalization.

Father Dionne was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 30, 1938, the youngest of six children born to Louis and Blanche (Bergeron) Dionne. After serving in the U.S. Army for two years, he discerned a call to priestly ministry and planned to enter the seminary while in his twenties but delayed entrance due to the deaths of his parents. Instead, he worked in commercial banking and real estate before revisiting a vocation to the priesthood. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, in Boynton Beach, Florida and a Master of Divinity in Theology from the Sacred Heart School of Theology, in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He was ordained to the priesthood for Diocese of Charlotte on February 21, 1981.

After serving as Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart Parish, in Salisbury, North Carolina, Father Dionne took a brief leave of absence from active ministry before coming to the Diocese of Saint Petersburg, where he was assigned as Parochial Vicar of Holy Family Parish, St. Petersburg (1982-1984), followed by assignments as Parochial Vicar of the following parishes: Nativity, Brandon (1984-1985); St. Patrick, Largo (1985-1988); Most Holy Name of Jesus, Gulfport (1989-1992); St. Michael the Archangel, Clearwater (1992-1997); and St. Thomas Aquinas, New Port Richey (1997-2003). From 1988 to 1989, he took a break from parish ministry and spent a year as a Chaplain in the U.S. Navy, serving in Newport, Rhode Island.

Father Dionne was incardinated into the Diocese of Saint Petersburg on October 31, 1990.  After 20 years of active ministry in our diocese, he was granted retirement status on July 1, 2003. While in retirement, he resided in Seminole, where he provided pastoral assistance to Bay Pines V.A. Hospital and to local parishes, including Holy Cross, St. Petersburg, and Blessed Sacrament, Seminole.

Survivors include Father Dionne’s nephew, Rene Labonte, of Santa Clarita, California, along with other extended family members.

All funeral services for Father Dionne will take place in Wheaton, Illinois, and he will be interred in a private service at Assumption Catholic Cemetery, in Wheaton, at a later date.

Please keep Father Dionne’s surviving family and loved ones in your kind thoughts and prayers.

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May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.