Bishop Fernández was born in Havana, Cuba. He studied at the Buen Pastor Seminary in Havana, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Havana on May 17, 1959. He served in four parishes in the Havana area as the Assistant Pastor for El Salvador Church in Cerro, Havana, as the Administrator to St. Peter's Church in Batabanó, Havana, as the Administrator of the Cathedral of Havana and as the Pastor to El Cerro Church, Havana, before coming to Miami in July 1967.
He was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Miami and the Titular Bishop of Hirina on June 23, 1997, and was consecrated a bishop on September 3, 1997. His principal consecrator was the then- Archbishop of Miami, John Clement Favalora. His co-consecrators were Archbishop Edward Anthony McCarthy and Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Roman, all of Miami. Auxiliary Bishop Fernández resigned as auxiliary bishop because of health reasons on December 10, 2002. At the time, he did not disclose what they were, but asked the people of South Florida "to help me with your prayers, and I will help you also with mine." At the time of his death, news reports said he had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Auxiliary Bishop Fernández, 76, died, after a long illness, on Friday, September 30, 2011. The current Archbishop of Miami, Thomas G. Wenski, celebrated a Funeral Mass on Monday, October 3, 2011 for him. Those who worked with the late Bishop said they will remember him as being humble, gentle and "a true Christian gentleman." Archbishop Wenski called him his "twin," referring to the fact that they were consecrated together as auxiliary bishops of Miami on September 3, 1997, by the now-retired Archbishop Favalora. He retired after just a few years as a bishop, "but his long illness was a cross that he embraced and offered" for the Miami Archdiocese, the Archbishop said in a statement. "We trust that he will continue to pray for us as we now entrust his soul to the Lord. May he rest in peace." The Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Mary Cathedral, followed by burial in the priests section of Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Miami.
His Family
His parents were Jose Fernández and Consuelo Villar. His siblings are Msgr. Orlando Fernández, and Father Nelson Fernández, both of the Archdiocese of Miami; another brother, Fausto Fernández, is administrator of Marian Towers, an archdiocesan apartment complex for low-income elderly; Sister Lilia Fernández is a Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine who ministers at Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove; two other sisters, Ondina and Teresita, live in Miami and another brother, Miguel Angel Fernández, lives in Mexico with his wife and two daughters.
