https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250867/father-earl-fernandes-son-of-immigrants-from-india-named-next-bishop-of-columbus-ohio
Bishop-elect Earl K. Fernandes of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. Courtesy Archdiocese of Cincinnati *By Shannon Mullen <https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/author/668/shannon-mullen>* Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 2, 2022 / 13:45 pm Father Earl K. Fernandes says that when he was growing up in Toledo, Ohio, his mother used to pray that he’d become “a good boy, a tall boy, and a doctor like my dad.” God had other plans for his profession. On Saturday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has appointed the 49-year-old Cincinnati pastor, the son of Indian immigrants, to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. The first Indian-American to head a U.S. Roman Catholic diocese, Fernandes succeeds Bishop Robert J. Brennan, who now leads the Diocese of Brooklyn. Fernandes’ episcopal ordination and installation is scheduled for May 31. In a press conference Saturday morning in Columbus, the bishop-elect spoke at length about the example of his immigrant parents, the experiences he has had being the victim of racial discrimination, and his “synodal” approach to his new role. “The pope wants a synodal Church, a Church that walks together. I look forward to walking together with the people, the priests, the deacons, and religious — actually, the whole people of God — in the Diocese of Columbus,” Fernandes said. “The Holy Father says sometimes the bishop has to walk in front of the people, leading them. Sometimes he has to walk in the midst of them, listening to them (and) their joys, their sorrows. And sometimes he has to walk behind him, so that no one gets left too far behind,” he continued. “I want to walk with the people of God here in the Diocese of Columbus,” he said. “We need to be a Church that walks together, and a Church that listens.” *Native of Ohio* The son of Indian immigrants who came to the United States in 1970 with his two oldest brothers, Fernandes was born in Toledo and was raised in a devout Catholic family on the city’s south side, a working class neighborhood located near an oil refinery. In his remarks Saturday, Fernandes said his late father, Dr. Sydney Fernandes, who died in 2019, was a physician and his mother, Thelma Fernandes, was a school teacher in India who later earned master’s degrees in education and social work and worked at a university. Fernandes spoke emotionally about his parents’ devotion to their Catholic faith and their sons’ education. They urged their five sons (Fernandes is the fourth-oldest, and tallest, he has pointed out) to “work hard, pray hard, and study hard.” “Having accepted the appointment to the Diocese of Columbus, I have to admit, that after Almighty God and the Holy Church, the people to whom I owe the greatest debt of gratitude are my parents, without whom I would be absolutely nothing,” he said. “I am grateful for the gift of life and faith that they imparted to my brothers and to me, and for the many hidden sacrifices they made for us boys.” Fernandes said that, to his knowledge, he is the first Indian-American Roman Catholic bishop in the United States. Bishop-elect Earl K. Fernandes addresses the media on April 2, 2022 following the announcement of his appointment by Pope Francis to lead the Diocese of Columbus, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250867/father-earl-fernandes-son-of-immigrants-from-india-named-next-bishop-of-columbus-ohio
