Bishop Earl Fernandes has arrived in the Diocese of Columbus in the middle of the Real Presence Real Future initiative, which could result in significant changes in diocesan structure and parish groupings.
But being involved in such a program isn’t new to him because the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, where he has been a priest for 20 years until now, is undergoing a similar transformation.
In Cincinnati, what’s known as the Beacons of Light program will group the archdiocese’s current 208 parishes into 57 families of parishes, with each parish family having one pastor, effective July 1.
Father Jan Schmidt, director of pastoral vitality for the 19-county archdiocese, oversees the program and said Bishop Fernandes played a significant role in it as pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Cincinnati for the past three years.
“Father Fernandes was part of one of the groups with which I’d consult and bounce off ideas as the archdiocese got ready to put in the changes resulting from Beacons of Light,” he said. “He’s a real Energizer Bunny. He gets things done and is not afraid to put his two cents in on any topic he’s interested in. He’s very visible and would never miss a meeting.
“He also was very active in archdiocesan committees on priestly life and on personnel and had all the responsibilities of the pastor of a large parish. I don’t know how he did it, but he handled them all well. He’s a very supportive, smart man,” said Father Schmidt, who also is rector of Cincinnati Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains.
He said Beacons of Light was the result of planning that started in 1985 as pastors and parishioners began to realize the number of priests being ordained would not be sufficient to fill the archdiocese’s future needs. Planning for change intensified during the past seven years, with five possible configurations of parishes being considered before the final grouping was announced.
Executives from Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank and other companies that have undergone their own restructuring volunteered to help the archdiocese with its plan.
Father Schmidt said the current configuration of 57 parish families will last for five years and then will be reviewed.
The new bishop began writing in 2011 for The Catholic Telegraph, the archdiocese’s monthly magazine, which started as a weekly newspaper in 1831 and switched to monthly publication 11 years ago. While he was teaching at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, he wrote a column titled “Question of Faith,” in which he answered readers’ questions. He continued to write it until he was transferred to the Washington, D.C., office of the apostolic nuncio to the United States in 2016.
“My enduring image of Bishop Earl Fernandes is of someone who has inordinately high energy and intelligence, but is at the same time a common man who is always happy and willing to help,” said Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, who came to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2008 as coadjutor archbishop and then became its archbishop in 2009.
“I recall the first time I met then-Father Earl Fernandes 14 years ago. It was the day of my Welcome Mass in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and there was a breakfast to be held at the seminary. My out-of-town family had no idea how to get there, and I was not yet familiar with Cincinnati, so I flagged down the first person I saw, a priest whom I did not know, and asked for help. Father Fernandes immediately assumed the role of ‘traffic director’ for my family, with great kindness offering them directions and any other help they needed.
“This is the man I came to know and admire – a joyful witness to the Gospel with the heart of a servant, a priest who makes the Catholic faith attractive for all those he encounters.”
Father Fernandes returned to Cincinnati three years later, at the same time Jessica Rinaudo became editor of The Telegraph, moving to Cincinnati after holding a similar position in the Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana.
“Father Earl was one of the first Cincinnati priests to greet me, and he spoke highly of our publication,” she said. “At the time we were in the process of converting The Catholic Telegraph from a newspaper to a magazine format, and he was taking the reins at St. Ignatius Church. Once we both settled into our new roles, I approached Father Earl about writing for The Telegraph again.
“He readily agreed, and together, we worked on ideas for his new column titled ‘A Priest’s Perspective.’ Within the context of his column, he addressed everything from devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to bioethics and synodality. He even wrote about a story that overlaps both our lives: five priests who died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1873 in Shreveport, my hometown.
“And when it came time for the archdiocese to roll out Beacons of Light, Father Earl volunteered to write an article series for us on the theological foundations of the process. Always willing to help the entire communications team, when we asked if he would record a video series for us on Beacons of Light, his response was, ‘I can come by tomorrow morning. Will that work?’
“Bishop-elect Fernandes has been a friend not only to The Catholic Telegraph and our readers, but to the team of people who produce the magazine, digital content and videos each month. He has a gift for writing and speaking, and we are truly grateful that he shared those gifts with us and the Catholic faithful of western and southwestern Ohio,” Rinaudo said.
“I remember how relatable Father Earl and his students felt with each other when I was a junior and senior at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney in 2002 and 2003,” said Father Ethan Moore, pastor of four Cincinnati churches and chaplain of the University of Cincinnati’s Bearcat Catholic program.
“He went with us to see Lord of the Rings, and I remember thinking, ‘Whoa! Priests watch movies?’” he said. “A friend of mine had a band, and he would come to his concerts, and eventually he was the celebrant and I was the deacon at our friend’s wedding.
“At the time, I thought he was a real cool priest,” said Father Moore, who was ordained in 2015. “Now I realize he had a real gift in his way of conveying the truths of the Church in a fresh, attractive way. He has an incredible intellect, but he’s able to personalize things in a way that makes you remember them more than as just being facts or dogma you had to learn to pass a class.”
Then-Father Fernandes also served as the confessor to the Children of Mary religious sisters at the Our Lady of Holy Spirit Center in Norwood, a Cincinnati suburb.
“He’d come visit us about every month to hear our confessions and asked us in turn if we would come to St. Ignatius School and help with Eucharistic Adoration there, which we were happy to do,” said Sister Faustina Maria, who will be the superior of a new house the Children of Mary will open in August at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Sidney. “Sometimes that’s where he would hear our confessions.
“He was always very devoted to the sisters and I know he’d come out of his way to fit us into a crowded schedule. He had a real concern for souls, and he’d often ask his congregation for prayers and sacrifices for us and our work.”
The Children of Mary are an order of 19 sisters established as a lay association in 2002. Mother Margaret Mary, the foundress, is retired and Mother Philomena Maria is the mother.superior.
The sisters are residing at their house in Licking County for the summer but in August four will go Sidney, eight will stay in Licking County and seven will return to their motherhouse in Norwood, where they’ve been since 2017. They remain semi-contemplative, working in women’s prisons and schools and helping with retreats and Holy Hours.
