Isidore Fernandes (2 January 1947 – 26 April 2023) was an Indian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Allahabad from 1988 until 2013.

Early life

Isidore was born in Kalathur, Udupi on 2 January 1947, to Casmir and Lucy Fernandes. His paternal Uncle was Anthony Fernandes, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Bareilly

Priesthood

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

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

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

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

and was then sent to the

Papal Seminary The Papal Seminary in Pune, India, is a Catholic educational institute whose primary function is training priests. Overview The seminary trains students from three Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular churches in India ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, where he studied philosophy and theology. Isidore was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, on 29 October 1972.

Episcopate

Fernandes was appointed bishop by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 5 May 1988, and his episcopal ordination took place on 4 August 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 Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

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

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

accepted the resignation of Bishop Isidore Fernandes, from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Allahabad.

Death

Fernandes died from a heart attack on 26 April 2023, at the age of 76. He was a priest for 50 years and a bishop for 34 years.Bishop Isidore Fernandes Passes Away
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References

External links

1947 births 2023 deaths 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 People from Udupi district {{India-RC-bishop-stub