Officials of the diocese’s elementary and secondary schools who met Bishop Earl Fernandes before his ordination were impressed with the message he brought them and with his readiness to work with them in the coming school year.
Bishop Fernandes visited school administrators for their annual May meeting at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He celebrated Mass for them and talked with them individually during the meeting’s lunch break.
“It was a particularly meaningful gesture that Bishop Fernandes was able to join Catholic school administrators from all around the diocese for our May meeting and Mass,” said Stephanie Paul-Tiberio, assistant principal at Westerville St. Paul School, who will move to Newark Catholic High School in the same position when classes resume in the fall.
“During what is certain to be a most busy time for him, he offered Mass and, through his homily, touched many hearts. He talked about the profoundness of a young boy in Italy who was asked by a priest to identify Jesus in the church and stated plainly that while the crucifix looked like Jesus, that was not truly Him. The boy went on to share that in the tabernacle resides Jesus, who (in the form of a consecrated host) does not look like our Savior, but truly is.
“Every day in our Catholic schools, we are firsthand observers of these moments. The homily was a reminder and a moment of renewal for me in my call to be a Catholic educator and leader.”
“His presentation of the Holy Eucharist was a visible celebration,” said Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School principal Jim Lower. “I look forward to seeing Bishop Fernandes when he is in Columbus. His short time with all of our administrators was uplifting and invigorating. What an exciting time we have to look forward to in Columbus!”
“He has made his commitment to Catholic education clear in very strong terms,” said diocesan school Superintendent Adam Dufault. “He is coming to Columbus with experience as an educator and as pastor of a church with a large elementary school.
“I was impressed with his own experience in Catholic schools. He’s very eager to dive in and to lead our schools into the future. Enrollment in the schools for the 2022-2023 academic year is trending upward as more people see the ways Catholic schools are different and make a difference.”
Bishop Fernandes also has visited the diocesan Schools Office in the Catholic Center in downtown Columbus.
Seth Burkholder, the office’s associate director for data analysis, said, “When I first heard that he was going to take the time to drive up from Cincinnati to visit the diocesan office and meet with each diocesan employee in their office, it reminded me of a quote from St. Therese of Lisieux: ‘Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.’
“That act of sacrifice and love made all that much more sense when I personally met with him and he talked of his family’s devotion to St. Therese.”
Burkholder also said he was impressed by Bishop Fernandes’ devotion to the Virgin Mary. “This is going to be a very Marian diocese going forward,” he said.
Burkholder said the new bishop “not only checks all the boxes that you have. He checks the boxes you didn’t realize you had. He is very pro-life and, coming from a family full of doctors and with (the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning its) Roe v. Wade (decision), the timing of his election to be a bishop in the United States could not be more perfect.
“We need leaders like this in the Catholic Church in the United States at this time and place.”
He said Bishop Fernandes’ ability to recall people, places and events “reminds me of another great bishop, Pope St. John Paul II. Given that he is a fast talker, I wonder if he will say Mass as fast as Cardinal (Timothy) Dolan (of New York City).”
A joint statement issued by Cristo Rey Columbus High School principal Ryan Michelle Pettit and Joseph Patrick, president of the school, said, “The students, faculty, staff, and board of Cristo Rey Columbus High School rejoice at the appointment of Bishop Fernandes to the Diocese of Columbus.
“As a diverse Catholic school, with students of color making up 92 percent of enrollment and 50 percent of students being first-generation Americans, Bishop Fernandes’ appointment as the first Indian-American bishop (in the United States) is embraced and celebrated.
“We look forward to working with the bishop in continuing to provide opportunities for Columbus’ students, especially those in underserved communities.”