Bishop Cheri’s heart was equally bold and soft

By F. DeKarlos Blackmon, OblSB, EdD
Sixteenth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Peter Claver

In the midst of the social unrest being experienced in so many communities throughout the nation, Franciscan Bishop Fernand J. Cheri was not afraid to point out how the church often failed to adequately focus her attention squarely on the “protections” of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as those protections had been, have been, and sometimes are being eroded and further infringed upon by those who are purported to be the “moral voices” of the nation.

Many of us can remember multiple opportunities where Bishop Ferd spoke with, what could only be referred to as, “holy boldness!” Whether preaching in our cathedrals, parishes, conferences, or speaking at convocations or even standing on the floor of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to speak to his brother bishops, Bishop Ferd spoke to the lived experience of the whole People of God, particularly the Black apostolate.

Bishop Ferd Cheri was not only a giant among the Black apostolate, but also among those who labored in the work of campus ministry; liturgy and music; justice, peace, and human development, and the eradication of racism from within the Church and society. He was a pastor of souls with a big vision who will continue to loom large in the history of the particular church of New Orleans and the Church in the United States.

The love he possessed for ministry, his family, his confreres and the various apostolates he accompanied expressed in a profound way that he had “a big heart.” While Bishop Ferd’s “big heart” enabled him to meet head on every opportunity to fight for justice, his “big heart” also was soft enough to care for priests who were suffering, young people who were struggling to belong, and all who felt marginalized and on the peripheries of our communities. You see, the love Bishop Ferd expressed was clearly demonstrative of how his heart was modeled after, and conformed to, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – and was as tender as the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Today, as we commemorate, and pray for the soul of, our pastor and friend, we also reflect on the importance of his being chosen as a successor of the apostles. When Bishop Ferd was raised to the episcopate – exactly eight years ago– in the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France in New Orleans, it was a profound day of rejoicing! Every one of us was moved with emotion as we could feel the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in that sacred space.

During his remarks on the day of his episcopal ordination, he used the hymnody of the Black apostolate to express his own testimony as he was overjoyed by God's blessings, grace, and mercy. Bishop sang, “I feel like singing my song, I feel like singing my song. Yes, I've been through a lot, and I'm going with Jesus all the way.” This song, on so many levels, conveyed how no matter what we have gone through, we must choose to always go with Jesus all the way.

We have so many soul-stirring examples of many of his homilies that began, ended, or were “up-ended” in song. Many of us can remember his rousing a cappella renditions of, “Tell Them I’m A Child of God.” He, as only he could, would get everyone on their feet, clapping in time to the classic hymn. But he used that hymn to ably remind us that we are challenged always to be unafraid to make a difference in the world by “changing lanes.” For he would preach, “God in Christ gives to each of us the ability and the privilege of changing lanes because the time is always right to do what is right.”

Bishop Ferd’s life and ministry to the whole people of God is a vibrant reminder that it is only by coming together as distinct cultures, by maintaining a oneness in the Spirit and our beliefs, and by sharing the self-giving love of Jesus Christ, that we can better share our hopes, dreams, and fears as true companions on the journey.

Brothers and Sisters, the gifts of Bishop Ferd are too numerous to count. However, we can rest assured that he taught us that as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to reinvigorate society by going forth into the world to preach the good news of salvation that Christ has won for us.

Post Scriptum
I would be remiss by not pointing out how with the death of Bishop Ferd, and the forthcoming retirement of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago – for many of us – Black  Catholic bishops appear to be an endangered species in our stateside church. This is pastorally disappointing. It is in moments like this, we are reminded of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman fspa who spoke to the U.S. Bishops about what it means to be Black in the church.

When speaking to the episcopal conference about how leaders should look like the people they serve, and pointedly about how the Black apostolate sees our Black bishops, Sister Thea said, “We love our bishops y’all. We love y’all too, but see these bishops are our own – ordained for the church universal, ordained for the service of God’s people.  But they (are) ours – we raised them. They came from our community, and in a unique way they can speak for us and to us.” We continue to pray for more Black bishops from our communities.

We give thanks to God for all the blessings bestowed upon Bishop Ferd for the good of the whole people of God. In addition, we pray for more shepherds who resemble the peoples of our communities. Let us continue to pray for Bishop Ferd, who has fallen asleep in the Lord, that the eternal Shepherd receives him into his kingdom of light and peace.

O God, who chose your servant Bishop Fernand Joseph
from among your priests and endowed him with pontifical dignity in the apostolic priesthood, grant, we pray, that he may also be admitted to their company for ever. Amen. Dr. F. DeKarlos Blackmon, OblSB, EdD served as the Sixteenth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Peter Claver, is former President of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights, and serves as Secretariat Director of Life, Charity and Justice in the Diocese of Austin.