Ohio: Father Earl K. Fernandes, a priest of Indian descent from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has been appointed by His Holiness Pope Francis appoints as the Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio.

This the first time in history, that a priest of Indian descent will shepherd an American diocese. The announcement was made by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio of the United States of America.

The 49-year-old Cincinnati pastor, the son of Indian immigrants, will be the 13th Bishop of the Diocese of Columbous, Ohio. His episcopal ordination and installation is scheduled for May 31.

Earl, born on September 21, 1972, in Tolado, Ohio, is the son of Dr. Sydney Fernandes and Thelma Fernandes, an indian immigrant couple from Mumbai. After graduating in biology from the University of Toledo in 1994, he began studying medicine at the University of University of Salford. It was when he was a sophomore that he recognized the call to priesthood and entered a seminary. He was ordained a priest in 2002 at Mount St. Mary's Church in Cincinnati.

The bishop-elect testified that it’s the exemplary prayer life of his mother, who was a teacher, and his father, a Medical Doctor, that was crucial in the formation of his faith. He served as the pastor of Holy Angels Parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and as a clergyman at Lehman Catholic High School in Sydney.

From 2008 to 2016 he was the Dean and Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's West Seminary. He also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Catholic Theological Schools and was ordained a Missionary of Mercy in the "Jubilee Year of Mercy" announced by Pope Francis from 2015 to 2016.

He was a trustee member of Josephine Pontifical College, Columbus and served in the nunciature for three and a half years. He is fluent in Latin, Spanish, Italian and French. The diocese of Columbus, spread over 11,310 square miles in the state of Ohio, has more than two million Catholics.