Felipe de Jesús Estévez

Felipe de Jesús Estévez (born February 5, 1946) is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine. He was formerly an Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Felipe de Jesús Estévez
Bishop of St. Augustine
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseMiami
DioceseSt. Augustine
AppointedApril 27, 2011
InstalledJune 2, 2011
PredecessorVictor Galeone
Orders
OrdinationMay 30, 1970
ConsecrationJanuary 7, 2004
by John Favalora, Pedro Claro Meurice Estiu, and Thomas Olmsted
Personal details
Born (1946-02-05) February 5, 1946
Matanzas, Cuba
Previous postAuxiliary Bishop of Miami/Titular Bishop of Kearney
MottoIN FINEM DILEXIT EOS
Styles of
Felipe de Jesús Estévez
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Biography

Early life and ordination

Estévez was born in Pedro Betancourt, Matanzas, Cuba. He fled to the United States as a young man under Operation Peter Pan. He is the second of three children (two boys and a girl) of Adriano and Estrella Estevez. He studied at Montreal University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and received a Licentiate in Theology in 1970. He was ordained a priest on May 30, 1970.

In 1977, he received a Master in Arts from Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida (1977) and in 1980, a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian.

Ministry

Estévez was sent to Honduras first as a priest than as a faculty member to two seminaries (1970–1975). He later joined the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida (1975–77) and from 1980–1986, he was the President/Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.

He then became the campus minister at Florida International University, Miami, Florida (1987–2001) and then the pastor of St. Agatha Church located next to the Florida International University (1987–2001). He then returned to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary as the Dean of Spiritual Formation (2001–03).

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and Titular Bishop of Kearney on November 21, 2003.[1] On January 7, 2004, he was consecrated as bishop at the Cathedral of St. Mary by Archbishop John Clement Favalora of the Archdiocese of Miami and his co-consecrators were Archbishop Pedro Claro Meurice Estiu of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba and Bishop Thomas James Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix.

Bishop of St. Augustine

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Estévez to succeed the retiring Bishop Victor Benito Galeone, in 2011.[2][3] The appointment was announced in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States church, and was published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was installed as Bishop of St. Augustine at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mandarin (Jacksonville) Florida. The installation was attended by over 2,000 Catholics including lay people, deacons, priests, and Bishops from around the country and was broadcast on the Catholic news network, EWTN.

Bishop Estèvez hopes to connect especially with the Hispanics in his diocese, who make up about 7 percent of the population there. Estevez indicated that his main priority will be evangelization, focusing on reaching out to youth and "estranged" Catholics. Estevez wants to encourage the clergy to inject more joy and energy into church services so as to make parishes more welcoming to those who want to return to the church. He also wants to educate Catholics about how to embrace and express their faith to the fullest. The bishop is an active opponent of the death penalty and legal abortion, routinely meeting with legislators, writing policy papers and delivering speeches; he has also been an advocate for the rights of the disabled and immigrants.[4]

Bishop Estevez is very ecumenical in relations with other Christian ecclesial communities, working to foster Christian unity in northeast Florida. He initiated the first-ever ecumenical Vespers at the bishop-level in Florida on January 22, 2014, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. Among the Christian leaders attending were bishops of the AME, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Greek Orthodox, and representatives of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the executive director of the Florida Council of Churches. Attending were also clergy and lay leaders from various Christian churches from Northeast Florida. (For names and photos of participating Christian leaders, see: http://ecumenicalvespers.info.) He was present at the installation of ELCA Bishop Robert Schaefer near Tampa, FL. He collaborated with local Orthodox leaders in support of the meeting between Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem on May 25, 2014.

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See also

References
  1. "Kearney". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  2. Conner, Deirdre (April 27, 2011). "Already familiar to the area, Miami bishop to lead Diocese of St. Augustine". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  3. "Pope appoints new bishop to Florida diocese" (Press release). Catholic News Agency. April 27, 2011.
  4. Brumley, Jeff (June 2, 2011). "New First Coast Catholic bishop known to champion social justice issues". The Florida Times Union.
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine Official Site
  • Episcopologio de la Iglesia Católica en Cuba bio
  • Bishop Ordained, Gets Ovation; The Miami Herald - January 8, 2004
  • The Newest Bishop; The Miami Herald - January 8, 2004
  • Roman Catholics Debate Whether Communion Should Be Withheld From Politician -Parishioners - Or Even All Catholics - Whose Views On Abortion Contradict Church Teachings; Miami Herald, The (FL) - May 30, 2004
  • Monseñor Estevez Assume Como Obispo Auxiliar; El Nuevo Herald - January 7, 2004

Episcopal succession
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Victor Galeone		 Bishop of St. Augustine
2011–Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
–		 Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
2004–2011		 Succeeded by
–
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