Mumbai: Monsignor Stephen Fernandes Ordained Auxiliary Bishop Of The Archdiocese Of Bombay

Mumbai: Monsignor Stephen Fernandes, a senior priest serving at the Apostolic Nunciature in New Delhi, was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bombay on Saturday at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Dadar, (Portuguese Church), Mumbai. 

The Apostolic Nunciature to India is an ecclesiastical office of the Vatican, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, in India, with the rank of an ambassador. Monsignor is a title for a Vatican official. 

Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Roman Catholic church had announced the appointment on October 25, 2025. Bishop Fernandes was born on September 21, 1961, in Mumbai, where his late parents, John and Palmira Fernandes, were parishioners of Our Lady of Salvation Church. He earned degrees in Commerce (B Com) and M Com.) and Education (B Ed) from the University of Mumbai, before learning theology at St Pius X College, the  archdiocesan seminary, in Goregaon, Mumbai.

He was ordained a priest on March 31, 1990, and served as assistant parish priest at St John the Evangelist Church in Marol, Mumbai. He served on the staff of St Pius X College, before pursuing advanced studies in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in theology from the Alphonsian Academy. He taught at St Pius X College and served in a senior post in the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).

The religious services on Saturday were led by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal. The co-consecrators were Archbishop John Rodrigues Archbishop of Bombay and other Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, for Nuncio to India and Nepal  President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in the Vatican. The consecration was attended over 30 bishops and archbishops, including Cardinal Oswald Gracias, former Archbishop of Bombay, and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao. Also in attendance were His Excellency Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, president of the CCBI. Faithful from across the city, along with members of the diplomatic corps, gathered in large numbers to witness the consecration.

In his homily during the ordination, Archbishop John Rodrigues emphasised the journey of the wise men in search of Christ, their encounter with Jesus, and their choice to return by a different path, drawing parallels to the spiritual path of the newly ordained bishop.The auxiliary bishop is the theological counsellor to the Catholic Medical Guild of St. Luke, Mumbai, and ecclesiastical advisor to the Catholic Nurses’ Guild of India (Archdiocese of Bombay), and a scholar in the church’s social teaching and medical ethics.

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