Bishop-elect Earl K Fernandes. Photo Courtesy: Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
PANAJI
Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a 49-year-old pastor, who traces his roots to Goa, as the next bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio-USA.
Fr Earl K Fernandes is the first Indian-American to head a Roman Catholic diocese in the USA and he will be consecrated and installed as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on May 31.
While the mother of Bishop-elect Fernandes hails from Aldona, his father's family hails from Mangalore and settled in Mumbai for three generations. Incidentally, his maternal cousin, Fr Leonard (Lenny) Noronha, serves in the Archdiocese of Mumbai and is Parish Priest at St Francis Xavier Church, Dabul.
“I am really overjoyed that my cousin Fr Earl has been appointed the bishop of Columbus, Ohio. It is indeed a great honour for Goa and Goans. We wish him all the best in his new ministry and pray that guided by the Holy Spirit, he will be a good shepherd in his Diocese of Columbus,” said Fr Noronha.
Fr Earl’s dad, Dr Sydney, his wife Thelma and their first two sons had moved from Mumbai to Toledo-Ohio in 1970, where Fr Earl and two other brothers were born.
According to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Bishop-elect Earl Fernandes earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo and moved to Cincinnati to study at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine before discerning a vocation to the priesthood.
Bishop-elect Fernandes, who was ordained priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on May 18, 2002, has a doctorate in moral theology from the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, Italy.
Over the past 20 years, he has served as dean, pastor, parochial vicar, seminary academic dean and associate professor, high school teacher, retreat leader, and regular contributor to various publications.
Bishop-elect Fernandes enjoys sports, movies and hiking. He is an avid reader and writer and has particularly strong interest in education, culture and languages.
He has given presentations, talks and retreats around the country and has written articles in three collections of essays published by the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, which also published his book in 2014.
He is currently pastor of St Ignatius of Loyola Church in Cincinnati and succeeds Bishop Robert Brennan, who will now lead the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Bishop Brennan has been quoted by The Columbus Dispatch as describing Bishop-elect Fernandes with many talents, a deep faith and a genuine love for the Lord to a Church that is vibrant with that same love for the Lord.
