New Bishop And More ‘Good News’

Posted: 11.04.09

My dear friends,

Delivering “good news” is what the Church is all about.

Therefore it is doubly good timing that in this first edition of our weekly newsletter, I get to congratulate Bishop-elect Fernando Isern on his appointment as bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo, Colo.

This humble Miami pastor captured Rome’s attention precisely because of the way he pastors — that is, shepherds — his people: the 2,400 families who make up Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kendall, one of the largest parishes in our archdiocese.

Our Lady of Lourdes was one of the first parishes I visited after I was appointed archbishop of Miami in November 1994. Father Anthony Massi was pastor then, and I remember the community celebrated Mass in a small building that also served as the parish hall. I think it accommodated perhaps 400 people; about 400 more had to sit outside in the broiling sun, listening through loudspeakers, because they did not fit inside.

Eventually, they were able to expand the parish hall. Now, less than 15 years later, the parish is completely built out. They have a magnificent church that seats about 1,400 people, the parish hall, and a school with an enrollment of about 600 students.

The parish is a hubbub of activity, with myriad ministries, constant prayer services and 24/7 perpetual adoration. Bishop-elect Isern seems to hover at the center of it all, always calm, cool and spiritual. He reacted the same way to the news of his appointment, with a profound sense of peace and trust in God’s will.

After his ordination Dec. 10 at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pueblo, he will be overseeing a diocese with more than 100,000 registered Catholics in a territory that stretches over 48,000 square miles. By way of comparison, the entire state of Florida covers nearly 54,000 square miles.

So Bishop-elect Isern will definitely have his work cut out for him — all the more reason for those who have been touched by his ministry here to continue to keep him in our prayers. As I said at the press conference Oct. 15, his appointment as bishop is a recognition of all the hardworking clergy in our archdiocese, priests who pastor their people just as Bishop-elect Isern did, with compassion, with faith and with enduring trust in the Lord.

The fact that Bishop-elect Isern is the sixth Miami priest to be named a bishop since 1995 sends a clear message to Catholics in south Florida: The Holy See has a great regard for our priests and the work that they are doing.
As to the other good news: You are reading it. This is the first of our weekly PDFs (a file format that can be read on multiple computer systems). It will be available online at www.miamiarch.org or at your parish if your pastor chooses to print or disseminate it in some way.

It is a part of our new three-tier approach to spreading the “good news” among Catholics in south Florida: daily online, weekly via PDF, and monthly in print.

We are striving to keep you up to date on all the goings-on in the archdiocese in the most cost-effective way possible. So we hope you will take advantage of all these means of communication to stay in touch with your Church and your fellow south Florida Catholics.

May the “good news” — in every sense of the word — be yours!