On the eve of the ordination and installation of Earl Fernandes as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, a Solemn Vespers service was held on Monday evening, May 30 at Columbus St. Andrew Church.
Bishop Robert Brennan, the predecessor of Bishop-elect Fernandes in Columbus, returned to central Ohio from the Diocese of Brooklyn to lead the prayer service. Bishop Brennan was the bishop of Columbus for 2 ½ years before the native New Yorker was appointed last September to be the spiritual shepherd in Brooklyn.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio who serves as the Vatican’s representative to the United States, was scheduled to preside but missed the ceremony because of travel issues.
Bishops and spiritual leaders from other dioceses and eparchies participated in the ceremony. Among them were retired Columbus Bishops James Griffin and Frederick Campbell.
Also in attendance were numerous priests and religious sisters who serve in the 23-county diocese. They joined the invitation-only congregation, which included the four brothers and families of the bishop-elect, that filled the sanctuary.
Vespers consisted of anthems, antiphons and canticles sung by the St. Joseph Cathedral choir, directed by Dr. Richard Fitzgerald and accompanied by Amanda Mole, the Cathedral’s principal organist.
A scripture reading from St. Paul to the Romans preceded the homily by Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, the bishop-elect’s home diocese.
Bishop Thomas referenced the reading while drawing a parallel to fatherhood and the importance of fathers teaching and providing spiritual and physical strength.
“The new bishop comes to stand in the person of the father, to become a father on this family of faith — a daunting task,” Bishop Thomas said. “Dear friends, this evening, I ask that you pray for him so that He may give himself as a child of a father, a holy and ardent bishop who pours himself out for you, who loves you, nurtures you and desires to be united with you in heaven.
“Every good father loves his children unconditionally, and so will your bishop strive to love you. Every father loves first by example to protect his family from harm and evil. And so will your new bishop love you.
“Whatever our vocation, no matter what age, the discipleship we live, if we understand that we’re loved by the Father, we will be at odds with a world which would have the church change to fit the world – a world that may reject us because we choose to live Jesus.”
After the homily, Bishop-elect Fernandes, named on April 2 to lead the Diocese of Columbus after serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, recited and signed an Oath of Fidelity at the altar. Bishop Brennan attested and signed the document.
A blessing of the Pontifical insignia followed that included items on a table carried to the altar and sprinkled with holy water by Bishop Brennan.
The bishop-elect wore red choir vestments and a pectoral cross. At the ordination and installation on Tuesday, May 31 at Westerville St. Paul Church, he was the receive the bishop’s miter, crozier and ring.
Bishop Thomas referred to those items in his homily.
“St. Paul reminds us that it is the task of this new bishop to live, preach and teach in such a way that everyone realizes the inheritance that awaits us,” he said. “In a few moments, the symbols of a new bishop’s office, the pontifical insignia, the ring, miter and crosier will be blessed. Bishop-elect Earl Fernandes is called to be the father of the faithful, and as a father, also a child of the Father, united to the Son and trusting in the Spirit as an heir of heaven.”
Bishop Thomas mentioned the bishop’s ring that will be worn on the new bishop’s right ring finger as a symbol of his nuptial bond with the church of Columbus and his “fidelity as the bride of Christ.” The origins of a bishop’s ring, he said, can be traced to 610 when Pope Boniface IV declared one be worn.
The Toledo bishop also explained the significance of the crosier and the miter and concluding by saying,
“We pray this evening for the new bishop and for his flock in the Diocese of Columbus, together that they may see his face and unfailing love, and do your part totally, as He has done His.”
