By Communications Department - Archdiocese of Miami

MIAMI… (January 25, 2013) Pope Benedict XVI has elevated seven archdiocesan priests to the rank of monsignor*, and one who is already a monsignor has been elevated to the highest rank of this honorary title: protonotary apostolic supernumerary. A ninth priest has been awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross, the highest honor accorded by the Vatican.

The priests were informed of the honors during a meeting Jan. 25 with Archbishop Thomas Wenski. “These are very dedicated men, most of whom have devoted many years to the Church in South Florida. I am pleased that our Holy Father has recognized their hard work and devotion. I rejoice with them and the entire Church of Miami,” the archbishop said.

They will receive the insignia of their new rank at an investiture ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at St. Mary Cathedral. More information will be made available in the near future. Those honored are:

Msgr. Jude O’Doherty
Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary
Born June 23, 1941 in Miltown Malbay-Co. Clare, Ireland, Msgr. O’Doherty was ordained June 12, 1965. He arrived in South Florida three months later and was named parochial vicar of Epiphany Church in Miami. He served as spiritual director of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, parochial vicar at St. Stephen Parish, Miramar, and St. Patrick, Miami Beach, until 1971, when he was named administrator of Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah, where he would serve as pastor until 1982. Among his many assignments during his nearly 50 years in the archdiocese, Msgr. O’Doherty has served as member of the Commission on Christian Unity; member of the Seminary Admissions Board; member of the Priests’ Senate; chairman of Archdiocesan Parish Renewal; member of the Pastoral Advisory Allocation Committee; co-chairman of the Archdiocesan Board of Health and Welfare Plan; dean of the South Dade Deanery; member of the first archdiocesan Synod; archdiocesan coordinator for the visit of Pope John Paul II; member of the archdiocesan Permanent Diaconate Review Board; member of the board of directors of the Catholic Community Foundation; and chairman of the board of trustees of the archdiocesan Pension Plan. Since June 1982, he has served as pastor of Epiphany Church in Miami.

Msgr. Chanel Jeanty
Prelate of Honor to His Holiness
Born Feb. 10, 1972 in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Father Jeanty was ordained for the Archdiocese of Miami May 15, 2004. He served as parochial vicar at St. Bartholomew until 2006, when he was sent to Rome, where he obtained his licentiate in canon law from the Gregorian University. When he returned in 2009, he was named parochial vicar at St. Rose of Lima in Miami Shores and judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal. He became the archdiocese’s chancellor for canonical affairs in September 2010, appointed to the College of Consultors in November of that year, and named vicar general in June 2011. Concurrent with his responsibilities as chancellor, he also serves as member of the Vocations Board; associate judge, second instance, for the Tribunal of Newton, Mass.; and since October 2011, as pastor of St. Philip Neri in Miami Gardens.

Msgr. James Fetscher
Chaplain to His Holiness
Born Aug. 9, 1941 in Jamaica, N.Y., Father Fetscher grew up in Holy Family Parish in North Miami and was ordained May 25, 1968 for the Archdiocese of Miami. He served in the religious education department, as coordinator for the North Dade Deanery, from 1969 to 1971, and became founding director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship from 1978 to 1984. Concurrently, he served as parochial vicar at St. Mark in Boynton Beach, Visitation Church in North Miami, teacher at Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, member of the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, parochial vicar at St. Lawrence Church in North Miami Beach and associate rector at St. Mary Cathedral in Miami. From 1976 to 1980 he served as parochial vicar at St. Louis Church in Pinecrest, where he would return as pastor in 1982. He remained at St. Louis until September 2010, when he was named to his current post as pastor of St. Sebastian in Fort Lauderdale. In addition, Father Fetscher has served as president of the Priests’ Senate, member of the first archdiocesan Synod, dean of the South Dade Deanery and member of the Presbyteral Council.

Msgr. Roberto Garza
Chaplain to his Holiness
Father Garza was born Oct. 2, 1967 in Tulia, Texas and ordained May 11, 1996 for the Archdiocese of Miami. He served as parochial vicar at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Key West until 1998, when he was sent for higher studies in missiology in Rome. He returned in 2000 to serve as parochial vicar at Corpus Christi Church in Miami while also serving on the board of Catholic Charities, Catholic Hospice and Genesis (a Catholic Charities facility for homeless people dying of AIDS). In June 2003, he was named parochial vicar at San Isidro Church, Pompano Beach, assuming the position of administrator of the parish six months later. In January 2009, he was named fulltime director of vocations for the archdiocese, and in August 2010 he assumed his current post as rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami.

Msgr. José Luis Hernando
Chaplain to his Holiness
Born Feb. 23, 1939 in Villalba de Duero, Spain, Father Hernando was ordained June 24, 1962 for the Archdiocese of Madrid, Spain. Two years later, he came to South Florida as a missionary, as part of the Spanish bishops' organization, the Obra de Cooperación Sacerdotal Hispano Americana (OCSHA), and was appointed parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Church, Homestead. Other parishes where he served as parochial vicar include: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (now Holy Rosary-St. Richard) in Cutler Bay; St. Philip Benizi in Belle Glade; St. Patrick, Miami Beach; St. Brendan, Miami; St. Monica, Miami Gardens; and Our Lady of the Lakes, Miami Lakes. He served as administrator of St. Ann Mission in Naranja from 1967 to 1969 and St. Benedict in Hialeah from 1977 to 1989. He joined the faculty at St. John Vianney Seminary in 1989 and in 1991 became director of the Permanent Diaconate Office. Throughout that time he also served as director of the Spanish-speaking Cursillo movement; assistant director of vocations; member of the Radio and TV Commission and the Committee on Popular Piety; on the board of admissions for seminary applicants; member of the first archdiocesan Synod; archbishop’s representative to the Priests’ Personnel Board; dean of the East Dade Deanery; and president of Pax Catholic Communications. In 1993, he assumed his current assignment as pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Key Biscayne.

Msgr. George Puthusseril
Chaplain to His Holiness
Born Aug. 3, 1955 in Kothanalloor, India, Father Puthusseril was ordained Oct. 6, 1979 and ministered in his homeland before coming to South Florida in 1990. He served as parochial vicar at St. Anthony in Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas the Apostle in Miami, St. Patrick on Miami Beach, and St. Timothy in Miami while also serving as judge and defender of the bond in the Metropolitan Tribunal since December 1991. He became administrator of St. Andrew Parish in Coral Springs in July 2002 and remained pastor there until July 2012, when he was named judicial vicar of the archdiocese. He also has served as a member of the Advisory Commission on Worship and Spiritual Life; chairman of the High Tech Advisory Committee and Archdiocesan Coordinator for Hi-Tech; member of the Priests’ Personnel Board; member of the pastors’ Committee for Budget and Assessments; and vicar forane for Northwest Broward. In addition to his duties as judicial vicar, he currently serves as temporary administrator at St. Agatha Church in Miami.

Msgr. José Juan Quijano
Chaplain to His Holiness
Born April 6, 1943 in Guantánamo, Cuba, Father Quijano was ordained Dec. 28, 1973 and ministered in the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba before coming to South Florida in 1988. Since then, he has served at St. John Bosco Church in Little Havana and Immaculate Conception in Hialeah, where he continues to help out on weekends. Sent for higher studies in Rome in 1988, he has taught at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach since 1990, with a brief two-year respite in 2000, when he returned to Rome for higher studies.

Msgr. Edmond Whyte
Chaplain to His Holiness
Born Jan. 29, 1938 in Lixnaw, Ireland, Father Whyte was ordained June 6, 1964 and came to South Florida that same year. Between 1964 and 1970 he served as parochial vicar at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Fort Lauderdale and St. Brendan in Miami. In 1970 he was named pastor of St. Justin Martyr in Key Largo, and in 1974 he became pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes in Miami Lakes. In January 1996 he took on his current assignment as pastor of St. Mark in Southwest Ranches, with accompanying responsibilities as founding supervising principal of Archbishop Edward McCarthy High School (until 2004). Since 1984, he also serves as a member of the archdiocesan Building Commission.

Jesuit Father Eduardo M. Barrios
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross
Born July 11, 1943 in Bayamo, Cuba, Father Barrios was ordained June 24, 1972 for the Jesuit Province of the Antilles. He began his service in the Archdiocese of Miami as a member of the faculty at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in January 1998 and taught there until September 2006 when he was named parochial vicar at Gesu Church in downtown Miami. He returned to Belen from July 2008 to August 2012, when he again became parochial vicar at Gesu.