In many ways, new Diocese of Columbus Bishop Earl Fernandes resembles his predecessor, Bishop Robert Brennan.

Both possess incredible energy and apostolic zeal for the faith. They’re personable and affable, and they talk fast and seem to be everywhere. They’ve accumulated valuable administrative experience in the Church, and they’ve also been pastors. 

Both were raised by devout Catholic parents and are one of five siblings. Both are relatively young for members of the hierarchy. Bishop Brennan was 56 when he came to the Columbus diocese in 2019. At 49, Bishop Fernandes becomes the youngest Roman Catholic bishop to lead a U.S. diocese. 

As shepherds of a diocese, bishops can find those qualities beneficial in carrying out their service to the people.

In other ways, the two churchmen are different. 

Bishop Brennan, who was installed as the bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn on Nov. 30, 2021 after serving 2 ½ years in the Columbus diocese, is a native New Yorker who spent all of his life in the city before coming to Ohio in 2019. Plain-talking Midwesterners here found his New York accent captivating and distinctive.

Bishop Fernandes, the son of emigrants from India, grew up in Toledo, a city of significant size but nothing comparable with metropolitan New York. He’s also a man of color and the first Indian-American priest to be elevated to the episcopate.

As a native Ohioan who has served as a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, his familiarity with the state should serve him well, Bishop Brennan said.

“I’m thrilled that he’s from Ohio and knows Ohio,” Bishop Brennan said from Brooklyn in an interview before Bishop Fernandes’ ordination and installation. “He has an advantage that he knows Ohio. He knows the state. 

“That was the biggest challenge for me coming to Ohio that it was my first time in the state. I had to get to know the area. He already knows the cities and the rural areas, and that will help a great deal.”

Bishop Fernandes asked his predecessor to be one of his co-consecrators for the ordination and installation that took place Tuesday, May 31 at Westerville St. Paul Church. The others were Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States whom Bishop Fernandes worked under in the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C.; and Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, where the new bishop worked for most of his 20 years as a priest in parishes and as a seminary professor and academic dean.

“I’m very humbled and honored that he reached out to me,” Bishop Brennan said. “He knows a lot of bishops through his work with the nuncio, and it’s a great honor for me.”

Bishop Fernandes spent three years, from 2016 to 2019, working in Washington under two apostolic nuncios, Archbishops Carlo Maria Vigano and Pierre, who are the Vatican’s diplomatic representatives to the United States. Bishop Fernandes also studied in Rome, starting in 2004, before he returned to the United States to teach at the seminary in Cincinnati.

Archbishop Pierre presented the scroll at the ordination and installation to Bishop Fernandes with the formal decree from the Vatican of his appointment to Columbus. The archbishop also serves as chancellor of the Pontifical College Josephinum.

Bishop Brennan first learned about then-Father Fernandes through interactions with one of his brothers, Dr. Ashley Fernandes, a Columbus physician who is a member of the Catholic Medical Association of Central Ohio and a moral ethicist. When Father Fernandes joined the Board of Trustees at the Pontifical College Josephinum (Bishop Brennan was vice chancellor as part of his duties as bishop of Columbus), the two became better acquainted.

“He always offered a lot of great insights,” Bishop Brennan recalled. “He’s obviously very intelligent.”

From the time of the announcement that Bishop Brennan was appointed to Brooklyn on Sept. 29 until Bishop Fernandes was named as his replacement, the process took approximately six months. Bishop Brennan was not directly involved in the selection. The Church has a formal process for that.

“As far as my involvement in a successor, I gave my input as far as the needs of the diocese,” he said.

Since the announcement was made on April 2 that Bishop Fernandes was coming to Columbus, he has spoken frequently with Bishop Brennan.

“And I’m sure we’ll speak a few more times,” Bishop Brennan said.

Among the challenges facing Bishop Fernandes upon his arrival will be the Real Presence Real Future initiative that Bishop Brennan launched in 2021.

“He’ll need to take his time and assess things and make decisions based on his pastoral style and what he’s comfortable with,” Bishop Brennan said.