By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

Photographer: Daniel So�� | FC

Flanked by Archbishop John C. Favalora to the left, and his predecessor, Bishop Arthur N. Tafoya, to the right, newly-ordained Bishop Fernando Isern is presented to the congregation.

Photographer: Daniel So�� | FC

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver lays hands upon Fernando Isern, consecrating him to the fullness of the priesthood as bishop.

PUEBLO, Colo. � �I�d like us to be Church � that is, all of us with a sense of belonging and a sense of responsibility.� That is the direction that motivates and impels the Diocese of Pueblo�s new leader, Bishop Fernando Isern.

The 51-year-old priest from the Archdiocese of Miami was named bishop of the Pueblo Diocese on October 15 and was ordained to the episcopacy on December 10, as Pueblo�s fourth bishop since the diocese was created in 1941.

Before coming to Pueblo, Bishop Isern had been pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Kendall. The parish is a large one, numbering about 6,000 people with about 40 different distinct ethnic groups.

Photographer: Daniel So�� | FC

Mother Adela Galindo, of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, wipes away tears during the ordination of Bishop Fernando Isern. She was among a 70-member delegation from Miami who attended the ceremonies Dec. 9-10 in Pueblo.

�One of the really nice things about the parish was the ethnic diversity,� he said, �and I wound up with the sense that people are people, that simple, and that the one common denominator that binds us is our faith.�

�We�re simply God�s people,� the bishop said.

Bishop Isern succeeds Bishop Arthur Tafoya, 76, who tendered his resignation in March 2008, even though it was not accepted by Pope Benedict XVI until Bishop Isern�s appointment. Bishop Tafoya was the diocese�s longest-serving bishop, being ordained to the episcopacy in September 1980 and serving until December 10. He succeeded bishops Charles Buswell and Joseph Willging.

Used to sailing the Atlantic, the new Pueblo bishop said he�s eager to learn a new style of boating on Lake Pueblo.

Although he was just a youth during the second Vatican Council � attended by Bishop Buswell � Bishop Isern said he can appreciate Pope John XXIII�s words that the council �was an opening for dialogue within the church and with other churches � an opportunity to let the Holy Spirit move in the church.�

Photographer: Daniel So�� | FC

Hilda Isern, Bishop Fernando Isern's mother, and Roberto Aguirre bring up the offertory during the ordination and installation Mass at the Massari Arena on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Among the ways that Bishop Isern intends to allow the inspiration of the spirit is the finding of a locale and patronage for Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a church site where all can visit Jesus in the Eucharist 24 hours a day. His own church in Florida hosted such a site.

Among the principals at Bishop Isern�s ordination and installation on December 10 were Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, who was the ordaining prelate; Cardinal Roger Mahony, from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio � ambassador � to the United States.

Archbishop Sambi recently told colleagues that the three most important characteristics of a bishop are that he be a �model of Christian life, an evangelizer and a unifier.�

The new Pueblo prelate said he agrees �completely with that assessment. That unity exists because we are sons and daughters of the Father and we celebrate that reality and communicate it as children of the same Father.�

Bishop Isern shuns labels such as liberal or conservative. He smiles when he says, �I think I�d describe myself as a middle-of-the-road person.�

�What I intend to bring of myself to the diocese,� the bishop said, �is an appreciation of its people and an appreciation of their diversity. I want to allow the movement of the Spirit and to signal my appreciation of lay involvement in the ministry.�

Marvin Read wrote this article for The Chronicle of Catholic Life, the monthly newspaper of the Diocese of Pueblo. Read more about Bishop Isern's installation in the Florida Catholic's December edition. Look for it in your parish the weekend of Dec. 19 and 20.

Click here to see/purchase pictures of this event and of the vespers service that preceded it.

Photographer: Daniel So�� | FC

An overall view of the ceremony at CSU-Pueblo's Massari Arena, a 3,900-seat venue.