Isidore Fernandes (born 2 January 1947) is an Indian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who served as the tenth Bishop of the

Diocese of Allahabad The Roman Catholic Diocese of Prayagraj ( la, Prayagrajen(sis)) is a diocese with its see located in the city of Prayagraj in the Ecclesiastical province of Agra in India. The Diocese of Prayagraj is spread over 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh. ...

from 1988 until 2013.

Early life

Isidore was born in Kalathur, Udupi on 2 January 1947, to Casmir and Lucy Fernandes.

Priesthood

Isidore completed his high school studies at St. Mary's High School in Shirva,

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He then joined the St. Paul's Minor Seminary in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and was then sent to the prestigious

Papal Seminary Papal Seminary, Pune, India, is a Catholic educational institute whose primary function is training priests. Currently, it caters to the formation of about 180 Seminarians from most of the dioceses of India. It trains students from all three ri ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, where he studied philosophy and theology. Isidore was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Most. Rev. William Gomes, the then Bishop of

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, on 29 October 1972.

Episcopate

Fernandes was appointed as bishop by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 5 May 1988, and his episcopal ordination took place on 4 Aug 1988, at the hands of Most Rev. Cecil D'Sa, the then Archbishop of

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

. At the time of his episcopal ordination, Isidore (41), was one of the youngest Catholic bishops in India. On Thursday, 31 January 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

accepted the resignation of Bishop Isidore Fernandes, from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Allahabad, according to Canon Law 401 § 2. He became Honorary Member of Allahabad; no successor was immediately named, but Bishop Ignatius Menezes, Bishop Emeritus of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

was appointed by the Pope to serve as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy
1947 births 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in India Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Christian clergy from Mangalore Living people {{India-RC-bishop-stub