Earl K. Fernandes

Earl Fernandes was born on September 21, 1972, in Toledo, Ohio, to Sydney Oswald and Thelma ({{nee}} Noronha) Fernandes. Thelma was born in Goa and Sydney in Mangalore in India; both parents were raised in Mumbai.{{Cite web |last1=Dsouza |first1=Alfie |last2=Mangalorean |first2=Team |date=April 4, 2022 |title=Fr Earl Fernandes, Son of Goan Parents, the FIRST Indian-American Roman Catholic Bishop in USA. |url=https://www.mangalorean.com/fr-earl-fernandes-son-of-goan-parents-the-first-indian-american-roman-catholic-bishop-in-usa/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |website=Mangalorean.com |language=en-US |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404025934/https://www.mangalorean.com/fr-earl-fernandes-son-of-goan-parents-the-first-indian-american-roman-catholic-bishop-in-usa/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=Thelma R. Fernandes Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information |url=https://www.walkerfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Thelma-R.--Fernandes?obId=26082007 |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=www.walkerfuneralhomes.com}}{{Cite web |date=April 2, 2022 |title=Resignations and Appointments, 02.04.2022 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/04/02/220402b.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |website=Vatican Press}} Earl Fernandes has four brothers; one is a deacon in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.{{Cite web |title=Four men are ordained deacons in Toledo diocese |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/news/religion/2008/09/27/Four-men-are-ordained-deacons-in-Toledo-diocese/stories/200809270013 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |website=The Blade |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Mullen |first1=Shannon |date=April 2, 2022 |title=Pope Francis appoints first Indian-American to head a U.S. Roman Catholic diocese |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250867/father-earl-fernandes-son-of-immigrants-from-india-named-next-bishop-of-columbus-ohio |access-date=April 3, 2022 |publisher=Catholic News Agency |language=English}}{{Cite web |title=Sydney Fernandes Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information |url=https://www.walkerfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=17880307 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |website=www.walkerfuneralhomes.com |language=en-US}}

The Fernandes family emigrated from India to the United States in 1971, settling in Toledo. Sydney worked as a physician and Thelma as a teacher.{{Cite web |date=April 19, 2022 |title=04/18/22- Bishop Elect Earl Fernandes- Easter Greeting - St Gabriel Catholic Radio |url=https://stgabrielradio.com/04-18-22-bishop-elect-earl-fernandes-easter-greeting/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419220732/https://stgabrielradio.com/04-18-22-bishop-elect-earl-fernandes-easter-greeting/ |archive-date=April 19, 2022 |access-date=April 19, 2022 |website=Saint Gabriel Catholic Radio |pages=(timestamps) 00:55, 01:35, 3:50, 10:15, 16:05, 25:00, 38:00}} When Earl Fernandes was a child, his mother started every day with a morning offering prayer. When the family went to visit Sydney while he was working at St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, Ohio, they often found him praying in the hospital chapel in his break time. Sydney frequently offered free medical care to patients.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Raised in Faith: The Early life of Bishop Elect Earl Fernandes |url=https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/raised-in-faith-the-early-life-of-bishop-elect-earl-fernandes/81142 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Catholic Telegraph |language=en-US}}

The Fernandes family attended St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Toledo, a working-class parish that Earl Fernandes says was a second home to him.{{Cite web |last1=Dsouza |first1=Alfie |last2= |first2= |date=April 9, 2022 |title=Fr Earl Fernandes having Mluru Roots, the FIRST Indian-American Appointed as BISHOP in US |url=https://www.mangalorean.com/an-exclusive-fr-earl-fernandes-having-mluru-roots-the-first-indian-american-appointed-as-bishop-in-us/ |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=Mangalorean.com |language=en-US}} Thelma made yearly pilgrimages to the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Cary, Ohio. At the shrine, she gave her boys money to light the devotional candles as she wrote down her petitions.{{Cite web |last=Telegraph |first=The Catholic |title=Thelma Fernandes, mother of Bishop Earl Fernandes, passed away on Oct. 5|url=https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/the-catholic-times/thelma-fernandes-mother-of-bishop-earl-fernandes-passed-away-on-oct-5 |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Catholic Times |language=en-US}}

Earl Fernandes attended parochial school at St. Thomas, then went to St. Francis De Sales School in Toledo, graduating as salutatorian in 1990.{{cite web |date=April 2, 2022 |title=New Columbus Bishop grew up in, went to school in Toledo |url=https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/cincinnati-priest-from-toledo-named-bishop-of-columbus/512-f5bb4cef-9482-40ee-976f-755852b6f0c7 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |website=wtol.com |language=en-US}} After high school, Fernandes attended the University of Toledo in Toledo, earning a bachelor's degree in biology in 1994. He then studied physiology for a year at the University of Salford in Salford, England.{{Cite web |title=Congratulations to Our Own Father Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Columbus |url=https://catholicaoc.org/bishopelectfernandes |access-date=April 2, 2022 |publisher=Archdiocese of Cincinnati |language=en-US}}

During a 1995 trip to Rome, Fernandes said he began to feel a call to the priesthood while praying at the Tomb of Saint Peter in Saint Peter's Basilica. He studied medicine for two years at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio, before leaving to prepare for the priesthood.{{cite web |last1=Bean |first1=Doug |date=April 2, 2022 |title=Cincinnati priest appointed as new Columbus bishop |url=https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/doug-bean-25eff3c4-ec24-452b-acd4-427d4c0bf403/cincinnati-priest-appointed-as-new-columbus-bishop |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403123938/https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/doug-bean-25eff3c4-ec24-452b-acd4-427d4c0bf403/cincinnati-priest-appointed-as-new-columbus-bishop |archive-date=3 April 2022 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |publisher=The Catholic Times |language=English |quote=}}

In 1997, Fernandes entered seminary studies at Mount Saint Mary's of the West in Cincinnati. He was ordained a deacon on September 29, 2001. Fernandes earned Master of Theology and Master of Divinity degrees from Mount Saint Mary in 2002.

File:St. Ignatius of Loyola Church (Cincinnati, Ohio) - exterior 2.jpg

Fernandes was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on May 18, 2002, by Archbishop Daniel Edward Pilarczyk at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati. After his 2002 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Fernandes as parochial vicar of Holy Angels Parish and as a teacher at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney, Ohio.

In 2004, the archdiocese sent Fernandes to Rome to study at the Alphonsian Academy. He attained his Licentiate in Moral Theology in 2006 and his Doctorate in Moral Theology with a concentration in bioethics in 2007.{{Cite web |last=Catholic Diocese of Columbus |date=30 May 2022 |title=Bishop Fernandes Ordination Vespers And Mass Program |url=https://archive.org/details/bishop-fernandes-ordination-vespers-and-mass-program |website=archive.org}} During this time, he encountered the lay ecclesial movement of Communion and Liberation, and was deeply impacted by it. His episcopal motto is drawn from a prayer of the movement.{{Cite web |last=Telegraph |first=The Catholic |title=The Way of the Cross and Public Witness |url=https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/the-way-of-the-cross-and-public-witness/80289 |access-date=April 20, 2022 |website=Catholic Telegraph |language=en-US}} While in Rome, Fernandes also trained as an exorcist with Carmine De Filippis, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome.{{Cite web |last=King |first=Danae |title=5 things to know: Columbus Catholic bishop-elect Earl Fernandes |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/faith/2022/04/20/earl-fernandes-5-things-know-columbus-catholic-bishop-elect/7289339001/ |access-date=April 21, 2022 |website=The Columbus Dispatch |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Thavis |first=John |url=http://archive.org/details/vaticanprophecie0000thav |title=The Vatican prophecies : investigating supernatural signs, apparitions, and miracles in the modern age |date=2015 |publisher=New York, New York : Viking |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-525-42689-9}}

After returning to Ohio, Fernandes joined the faculty at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati, later serving as its academic dean. In 2013, he published a book, Seminary Formation and Homosexuality, with the Institute for Priestly Formation. The book defended Pope Benedict XVI's ban of the admission of gay men to Catholic seminaries.{{Cite book |last=Fernandes |first=Earl K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsKioAEACAAJ |title=Seminary Formation and Homosexuality |date=August 2013 |publisher=Institute for Priestly Formation |isbn=978-0-9887613-0-8 |language=en}}

In 2014, the archdiocese assigned Fernandes to serve as parochial administrator of Sacred Heart Parish in Cincinnati. While there, he celebrated the Tridentine Mass along with masses in Italian and English. He later said most of the attendees at the Tridentine masses were young people, whom Fernandes characterized as:

... Looking for reverence and beauty, a sense of transcendence, and to be connected to their parents and grandparents, the generations of faith... The Latin Mass is also quiet. There’s so much noise and business in our lives. They enter into the liturgies interiorly and love it for its tradition, the Faith of their fathers.{{Cite web |date=August 18, 2015 |title=The right medicine |url=http://www.1faith1hope1love.org/news/the-right-medicine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425141301/http://www.1faith1hope1love.org/news/the-right-medicine/ |archive-date=25 April 2023 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |work=One Faith, One Hope, One Love |publisher=The Catholic Community Foundation for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati |language=en-US}}

File:Cathedra_of_Bishop_Earl_Fernandes_at_St._Joseph_Cathedral_in_Columbus,_Ohio.jpg at St. Joseph Cathedral with his ecclesiastical arms|345x345px]]

On April 2, 2022, Fernandes was appointed the 13th bishop of Columbus by Pope Francis. Fernandes was consecrated by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, with Archbishop Pierre and Bishop Robert J. Brennan serving as co-consecrators, on May 31, 2022, at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Westerville, Ohio.{{Cite web |title=Location, time set for Bishop-elect Fernandes's ordination and installation |url=https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/doug-bean-25eff3c4-ec24-452b-acd4-427d4c0bf403/location-time-set-for-bishop-elect-fernandes-ordination-and-installation |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=The Catholic Times |language=en}} Fernandes was the first Indian-American bishop to serve in the United States, as well as the first person of color to serve as bishop of Columbus.{{cite news |last1=King |first1=Danae |last2=Doyle |first2=Céilí |date=April 2, 2022 |title=Columbus Diocese's new Bishop-elect Earl Fernandes is first Indian-American Catholic bishop |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2022/04/02/pope-francis-names-new-catholic-bishop-columbus/7238724001/ |access-date=April 2, 2022 |work=The Columbus Dispatch |location=Columbus, OH}}

In July 2022, Fernandes assigned a diocesan priest to run the Newman Center of Ohio State University in Columbus.{{Cite web |title=Bishop of Columbus Shifts Direction of Ohio State Newman Center |url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/bishop-of-columbus-shifts-direction-of-ohio-state-newman-center |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=NCR |date=July 13, 2022 |language=en}} The Newman Center had been run by the Paulist Fathers for the past 65 years. According to the diocese, it took control of the center to align it more closely with the objectives of the diocese and to promote the addition of new Catholic lay organizations, including Opus Dei and Courage International. The Paulists then decided to leave the Newman Center completely.{{cite web|url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2022/07/31/paulists-newman-center-last-mass-ohio-state-ministry/10158087002/|title=Paulist priests celebrate their last Mass at Ohio State's Newman Center|date=31 July 2022|access-date=18 August 2022|work=Columbus Dispatch|last=Behrens|first=Cole}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2022/06/30/ohio-states-catholic-student-ministry-get-new-leader-vision/7782368001/|title=Ohio State's Catholic student ministry to get new leadership at Newman Center|date=1 July 2022|access-date=26 July 2022|last=King|first=Danae|work=Columbus Dispatch}} Previously, the Paulist Fathers-led ministry at the Newman Center featured "a year-round resident community of retirees and middle-aged adults with children."Fraga, Brian. "A year after Paulists' removal from Ohio State, community 'fighting anger and grief'." *National Catholic Reporter*, 31 Aug. 2023, [ncronline.org](https://www.ncronline.org/news/year-after-paulists-removal-ohio-state-community-fighting-anger-and-grief). In 2024, the director of the OCIA program at the Newman Center recognized the new Diocesan director's support of the OCIA program as accounting "for the pretty tremendous growth that’s happening there and the number of students who are being brought in."Heil, Hannah. "Newman Center Attracts Wave of New Catholics." *Catholic Times*, [catholictimescolumbus.org](https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/hannah-heil/newman-center-attracts-wave-of-new-catholics).

In September 2023, Fernandes announced the closing of 11 parishes in Columbus due to low Mass attendance.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-04 |title=Black Catholic parishioners asking bishop to not close church |url=https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/black-catholic-parishioners-asking-bishop-not-close-church/530-4d675abc-4e0c-40c2-bf1c-d58b87c33715 |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=10tv.com |language=en-US}}

The Diocese of Columbus has experienced a notable growth in priestly vocations during Fernandes' episcopacy, more than doubling from 17 in 2022 to 37 in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Lauretta |date=2024-04-21 |title=Bishop Fernandes on building a ‘culture of vocations’ in his diocese where priestly vocations have increased - OSV News |url=https://www.osvnews.com/2024/04/21/bishop-fernandes-on-building-a-culture-of-vocations-in-his-diocese-where-priestly-vocations-have-increased/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.osvnews.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-19 |title=US Diocese of Columbus doubles number of seminarians in two years - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-03/columbus-ohio-bishop-fernandes-doubles-vocations-two-years.html |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.vaticannews.va |language=en}}

Fernandes is a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus, as well as a member of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• {{flag|Holy See}}: Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

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• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

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{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite web |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfernane.html |website=Catholic Hierarchy |title=Bishop Earl K. Fernandes}}
• [https://columbuscatholic.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus Official Site]
• [https://catholicaoc.org/ Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati Official Site]

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{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati |state=collapsed}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1972 births

Category:People from Toledo, Ohio

Category:American Roman Catholic priests

Category:American people of Goan descent

Category:University of Toledo alumni

Category:Catholics from Ohio

Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States

Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis

Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Columbus