Bishop Fernando Isern honored at former parish

MIAMI | Three days after announcing his retirement for health reasons, Bishop Fernando Isern was back in Miami to help dedicate Our Lady of Lourdes� newly refurbished parish hall, a facility which now bears his name.

The former bishop of Pueblo was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes from 2002 until his appointment as bishop in October 2009. He returned to Pueblo for a farewell vespers service at the cathedral June 25 then returned to Miami to take on a less stressful assignment: On July 1, he began serving as pastor of St. Kieran Parish in Miami.

The dedication of the refurbished hall took place June 16, Father�s Day. As the current pastor, Msgr. Kenneth Schwanger, explained in a message to parishioners that was published in the parish bulletin: �Our pastors have cared for us with a father�s love and prepared us to embrace who we are as a parish family and to share our gifts with the world. Father Joseph Currid, our first pastor, helped us bring Our Lady of Lourdes Parish to life. Father Anthony Massi, the builder, helped us to provide a beautiful home in which our growing family could worship and work. And Father Fernando Isern fed and nurtured us so that the family would grow and flourish � already testing the limits of our parish home.�