Leopold "Leo" Frade (born October 10, 1943) is the third Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida and former Bishop of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Education

Frade was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, on 10 October 1943 to devout

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

sEpiscopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Leopoldo and Angela Frade.''Episcopal Clerical Directory, 2005'' New York: The Church Hymnal Corporation, pp. 299-300 Frade attended Candler College (now Amistad Cubano-Sovietica Technical School), then a Methodist school in Cuba, and received a B.L. in 1960. He continued his college education in the United States at Asbury College, but left at the end of his junior year to join his family in New York and to go to work. While in New York, Leo Frade decided to join the Episcopal Church. After moving to Miami in 1969, he was confirmed and started to prepare for seminary. He studied theology at the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an off ...

and received an M.Div. in 1977. He also received a B.A. from Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University), in 1978.

Honorary degrees

Frade has received the following honorary degrees: * 1982, D.D.,

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

; * 1989, D.D.,

; * 2001, D.D.,

Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest Seminary of the Southwest (formally the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and informally SSW) is an Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas. It is one of nine accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Semina ...

; and * 2006, S.T.D., Florida Center for Theological Studies

Ministry

Frade was ordained to the diaconate April 17, 1977, and to the priesthood October 17, 1977. On January 25, 1984, he was consecrated bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras. He served as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Holy Cross Episcopal Church,

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, from 1977–1978, and priest in charge of Hispanic ministries of Grace Episcopal Church, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, from 1978–1982. After the

Mariel Boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980. The term "" is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and English. While the ex ...

, Frade was one of two Episcopal priests to be convicted for "trading with the enemy" for their part in bringing 402 refugees from Mariel on a converted minesweeper, the God's Mercy. The conviction was later overturned. He served as Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Honduras from 1984–2000, when he was elected the third Bishop of Southeast Florida on May 6, 2000. He was enthroned on September 16, 2000. In his ecclesial ministry, he welcomed Father

Alberto Cutié Alberto R. Cutié (born April 29, 1969, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Cuban-American Episcopal priest who is also known as Padre Alberto. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1995. He has an internationally recognizable name, due to his work ...

into the Episcopal Church, something which provoked a negative reaction from local Catholic leaders, who said it could harm relations between the two congregations. According to the decision of the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church allowing bishops to authorize same sex unions, Bishop Frade approved a petition by All Saints Episcopal Church rector, Father Sherod Mallow to perform a special blessing ceremony of same-gendered couples. The special ceremony was held in April, 2012.Brooks, Louise, "Nine Same-Gendered Couples Blessed in Episcopal Church Ceremony." ''Walking With Integrity''. Internet Blog. April 28, 2012, http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2012/05/nine-same-gendered-couples-blssed-in.html Taken October 28, 2012.

Family

Leo married Carmen Frade and had two children. Leo married Diana Dillenberger on December 22, 1987.

References

External links

The Diocese of Southeast Florida

Trinity Cathedral, Miami

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frade, Leo 1943 births Clergy from Havana Cuban emigrants to the United States Asbury University alumni Sewanee: The University of the South alumni St. Thomas University (Florida) alumni Cuban Episcopalians Living people Converts to Anglicanism from Methodism Episcopal bishops of Honduras Episcopal bishops of Southeast Florida