Bishop Fernandes on vocations, the Latin Mass, Abp. Vigano, and developing a prayer life

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, 52, has led the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio since 2022. He is the first bishop of Indian descent appointed a bishop in the United States.

His parents are from Mumbai, India. His father, a physician, immigrated to the United States in 1970 to practice medicine at St. Charles Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. He and his wife Thelma had five sons; Earl was the middle son. The family was devout; Earl attended Catholic schools and initially intended to be a physician like his father. After attending medical school for two years, he opted instead for the seminary.

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2002. He has served in a variety of roles since, including as a seminary teacher and as secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, first to Archbishop Carlo Vigano and then to Cardinal Christophe Pierre. He was serving as pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Cincinnati when he was appointed Bishop of Columbus.

His involvement with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops includes serving as chairman of the subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. He is a prolific writer and regularly delivers talks and leads retreats around the country.

CWR: Although much of India is Hindu, your parents were devout Catholics and raised you in an observant Catholic home.

Bishop Earl Fernandes: Yes. Although there are 1.4 billion people in India, only about 2% are Catholic. My parents were Latin Rite Catholics.

Bishop Fernandes: We went to Mass and prayed the Rosary, the Litany of Loreto, and the Perpetual Novena to the Little Flower. We attended a poor parish in Toledo, St. Thomas Aquinas. We regularly went on pilgrimage to the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Cary, Ohio. Throughout my upbringing, my imagination was filled with a beautiful Catholic culture.

CWR: Was it difficult for the family to adjust to life in America?

Bishop Fernandes: There was a period of adjustment. My mother realized early on that we had no extended family in America; all we had was the immediate family and the Church. She told us to work hard, pray hard, and study hard. She was a school teacher in India and emphasized education. Three of her sons would go on to be physicians, one a magistrate, and the fifth a Catholic bishop.

It was a strange time growing up in the Catholic Church in the 70s, liturgically and catechetically. My father taught us religion from the Baltimore Catechism. My parents were always attentive to what we were learning and doing. I went to parochial school and to St. Francis de Sales High School.

CWR: Many Indians have come to the United States and excelled.

Bishop Fernandes: That’s true. There’s a book, The Other One Percent, that talks about how Indians are the highest-educated and highest-earning ethnic group. There are many prominent Indian-Americans; Vivek Ramaswamy, for example, may run for governor of Ohio. There’s also FBI Director Kash Patel, Usha Vance [Vice President J.D. Vance’s wife], and Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, to name a few more.

I was driven to excel because my parents pushed me to strive for excellence. I also had something to prove and opportunities to excel. It is heartbreaking to me to see how so many who live in America take their freedoms and opportunities for granted. People are literally dying to come here because of what we have.

CWR: What led you to the priesthood?

Bishop Fernandes: I believe I’ve had a deep personal call. I’ve always felt at ease and at home in the Church and in prayer. I was an altar boy from the time of my First Communion through medical school. The Oblate priests at St. Francis de Sales High School made a favorable impact on me; I thought, “I like being around church, this could be something for me.”

I had a religion teacher, Pat Wright, who talked about vocations and surveyed us as to whether or not we’d have an interest in the priesthood. I said yes.

For my third year in college, I studied in England. While some young people away from home skip Mass, I started going every day. I met an Irish priest there, Fr. Ian Kelly, and spoke with him about my vocation.

I had the chance to visit St. Peter’s Basilica while I was in Europe. I remember seeing an image of the Holy Spirit, the Pieta, and the tombs of the saints. When I came to the tomb of St. Peter, I fell to my knees and I knew. God was calling me to be a priest. I called the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and entered the seminary in 1997.

CWR: What was your family’s reaction when you were ordained?

Bishop Fernandes: They were overjoyed. My mom kissed my hand and said, “Now when I die, I get to go straight to heaven.” My father said it was a great honor. My brothers were supportive. I have since baptized my nephews and nieces, and have even begun doing their weddings.

CWR: You trained as an exorcist?

Bishop Fernandes: Yes. I was in Rome at the Alphonsian Academy earning a doctorate in moral theology. I finished my degree six months early, and I asked Archbishop Pilarczyk if there was anything else he’d like me to do in Rome before I came home. He said, “Yes, we don’t have an exorcist. We had a case come up, and we had to call one in from outside the archdiocese.” So, I apprenticed under Fr. Carmine De Filippis.

People have an interest in the sensational side of exorcisms, so I don’t like to highlight my work in this ministry. I can say that I saw some things that I wouldn’t want to see again.

CWR: What was your time like with Archbishop Vigano?

Bishop Fernandes: I worked as a member of his staff for a few months before the new nuncio, Cardinal Pierre, came in. My experience with him was much different than what would later come out in the media.

He welcomed me. I saw him pray for a half hour before Mass, say Mass devoutly, and pray afterward. I saw none of the strident language against Pope Francis that would later come out. When I knew him, he was a man who had offered great service to the Church. He was meek and mild, not at all fierce in the way he came across later. In my presence, he never spoke ill of the pope. He said his prayers and did his duty. What came later was surprising.

CWR: Your predecessor at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Cincinnati, Fr. Geoff Drew, was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual assault of an altar boy. What was the healing process like when you went there?

Bishop Fernandes: There were 3,000 families in that parish when I arrived, and 1,160 children in the school. People were hurt. I was warmly received. I called the families of victims, and met with those who wanted to talk with me. We adopted a safe environment policy. We did holy hours of reparation for the sexual abuse of minors. We made progress reestablishing trust and rebuilding the morale of the parish staff.

CWR: It was while you were there that you were named Bishop of Columbus.

Bishop Fernandes: Yes. Cardinal Pierre called me. I almost sent him to voicemail. He asked me, “Where are you? Are you alone? Are you sitting down?” These are questions he’d ask when he’d call someone about making him a bishop. He said, “The Holy Father has nominated you as the next Bishop of Columbus.”

I knew how much work it was to find a bishop for a diocese, so I accepted.

My mother was too sick with Parkinson’s to attend my ordination, but I remember her joke when she learned of my appointment: “Why does Earl want to be a bishop? There’s no money in that.”

CWR: You’ve seen a lot of growth in Columbus in the past three years.

Bishop Fernandes: Yes, Columbus has been growing quickly. We had 278,000 Catholics when I arrived, and nearly half a million now. Our Hispanic population has been growing rapidly.

Because of demographic changes, I have had to close 16 parishes since I arrived, but at the same time, I’ve had to build new schools.

We had a vocation crunch when I arrived. In 2022, the year I was ordained bishop, we ordained no priests. I noted at the time that we ordained more bishops in the diocese than priests that year. I said I had two priorities: evangelization and vocations.

We had 17 seminarians three years ago. Today, we have 43. I’ve ordained nine priests since I arrived and incardinated five more. We’ve been able to appoint great vocations directors, and employ younger, dynamic priests in key areas of our diocese. I participate in four Andrew dinners annually for vocations to the priesthood, and a Marian dinner for young women interested in religious life. In fact, we’ve had an explosion of interest in religious vocations for women, with 60 or 70 in discernment. The people are also praying and fasting for vocations.

I’ve made an effort to recruit priests and religious for our schools, and we also have many lay apostolates at work in the diocese. I took some heat in 2022 when I had diocesan priests take over the Newman Center at Ohio State University [it had been run by the Paulist Fathers]. But it is bearing fruit. We’re seeing young men interested in becoming diocesan priests.

We have had five priests die in the diocese in the past three years, but with the priests we’ve ordained and brought in, we’re headed in the right direction.

CWR: Why did you lower the Confirmation age from high school to the fourth grade?

Bishop Fernandes: Young people have a slew of negative influences on them today, much more so than in previous generations. These include drug and alcohol abuse, porn, and cyberbullying. They need the grace of the sacrament to live their baptismal calling. Also, at age 9 or 10, children are more docile to the Faith than they are in their teens.

CWR: You’re an advocate of the Religious Workforce Protection Act.

Bishop Fernandes: I’ve been trying to recruit foreign-born priests and religious to work in our diocese. Under current immigration law, if I have such a priest working here and his visa expires, but his green card has not yet been granted, he must return to his country of origin for a year.

Under the current system, I am at risk of losing 21 priests and religious sisters in my diocese, which would make it difficult for us to provide for the needs of our people. We will have to close parishes. I’ve worked with lawmakers of both political parties to create an easy fix, the Religious Workforce Protection Act, which would allow them to stay in the parishes and not have to go home for a year.

CWR: What other issues are of particular importance to you?

Bishop Fernandes: As chairman of the USCCB subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Indian bishops about the situation of the Church in India. Many Americans are not aware of this, but fundamentalist Hindu groups in India are preventing the free practice of the Catholic faith in parts of India. This is also true in other parts of the world, including in the Middle East and Africa.

So, religious liberty is an important issue to me, as in my role with the USCCB, I’ve heard so many tragic stories of religious persecution.

We need to work towards positive change. Also, we bishops in America need to be grateful that we are not operating under the restrictions that exist in many other countries throughout the world.

CWR: You have celebrated the Tridentine Mass.

Bishop Fernandes: When I grew up in the 70s, the parishes had guitar Masses and liturgical dance. My father had a fondness for the Latin Mass. When I went to medical school, there was a Latin Indult Mass offered nearby. I liked the Gregorian chant, as well as its peace and quiet. I’d go to the English Mass as well, depending on what my schedule was.

When I finished up my doctorate in 2007, Archbishop Pilarczyk asked me to study the Latin Mass so I could help with the celebration of it. There was nothing ideological about it; we wanted to offer the Mass to meet the pastoral need of the people. It is a beautiful part of the Church’s tradition.

CWR: Who are some Catholics you admire?

Bishop Fernandes: I admire my parents, who were great Catholics. During my lifetime, I admired Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa, both of whom I found inspirational.

Pope Benedict XVI had a great mind and was a gentle man. I appreciated his clarity of thought. Clemens von Galen, Bishop of Munster, was a heroic figure who resisted the Nazis.

I like many saints, including St. Gregory the Great, St. Leo, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine. St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, is another of my favorites. He was a Doctor of prayer, had a great pastoral sense, and wrote hymns to catechize the poor. He was eminently practical and preached missions.

I also like St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. He lived a simple life and battled the devil. I also admire St. Therese of Lisieux, whose vocation was to be love in the heart of the Church. And, there is St. Francis de Sales. I read his Introduction to the Devout Life, and it changed my life. He was kind and gentle. I have a statue of him in my office and in my private chapel.

CWR: What are some ways the average Catholic-in-the-pew can develop a prayer life?

Bishop Fernandes: I’d recommend saying the Rosary and joining a Bible study. Say the morning offering. Build a small shrine in your home of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Some people benefit from the Hallow prayer app. Others like Fr. Mike Schmitz’s The Bible in a Year or Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire. Some may like to begin praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

Don’t make it complicated; just get going with something. Of course, there’s Sunday Mass and visiting the Blessed Sacrament. Look around the Church at the art and let it draw you to God. Learn to speak familiarly to Him, as one friend speaks to another.

(Editor’s note: This interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.)