Nna Ora (Father of All) of San Bernardino
By David Okonkwo
There could not have been a better bishop for the time you were the Ordinary of the Diocese of San Bernardino. You were second to none! All the troubled times and the good and not so good times, you led in definitive manner that was not questioned. Your foresightedness has brought our Diocese to the forefront of the nation in many areas.
Beginning with the name of our ministry (Catholics of African Descent), you sought to include all the people of African descent in a ministry that will care for all people of African descent just like the rest of the ethnicities in our Diocese. Though not all were enthusiastic about it at the time, they came to embrace it in the end. And with that, the ministry slowly opened up for all African descent communities.
The opportunities you opened for African priests studying in Rome or Germany who sought for summer opportunities to serve has given the Diocese so many advantages to fill the needs in our parishes with priests of different ethnicities and has brewed this golden pot of spiritual gifts from all over the world in our parishes.
Your care for all the ethnicities shows. You empowered the directors of the ethnic ministries to represent you in carrying on their ministries within their ethnicities, which directly brought about the ethnicities’ evangelization journey full-force.
In hiring me as the director for the African descent Catholics ministry ten years ago, you threw all your support behind me to lead this ministry forward and supported every effort the ministry was making. Through your urging, we brought back our annual Black History Month Masses and the ecumenical engagement with the black pastors’ association in San Bernardino. The ministry exposed you to better understanding of the Igbo community and their love of you, which led them to bestow on you the title of Nna Ora (Father of All) of San Bernardino.
We thank you and thank God who gave you His wisdom and insight to govern our Diocese for many years. May God bless you, keep you strong and healthy and give you a long life. Muchismos gratias Bishop Barnes, you are blessed!
David Okonkwo is the Director of the Office of the Ministry to Catholics of African Descent.
Thank you for your faithfulness, Bishop Barnes
By Petra Alexander
It is so difficult to send off a leader whom we dearly care for and call “one of our own!” We are glad that your well-deserved rest has arrived, but we are also pained by your absence.
Each bishop receives at his ordination a staff that identifies his pastoral work, a mitre that designates him a teacher and formator to his people, and a ring espousing him to his diocesan community. How faithful Bishop Barnes has been to this union!
For our Diocese, he tirelessly journeyed through countless trips, meetings, interviews and celebrations, always with true priestly zeal.
How many roads have been opened, supported by the firmness of a staff that is evidenced by its firm rock, our Blessed Virgin Mary! Bishop Barnes has poured his personal gifts into our midst, and we are witnesses to how he has been blessed with firm hope; the same hope that all Catholics receive at the time of our baptism and that which Bishop Barnes received doubly.
This distinguishes him as a missionary disciple at the head of his people. Hispanics in this Diocese and elsewhere in the United States have experienced what St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews states of Christ: “He is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers’” (Hebrews 2:11).
Our beloved Bishop Barnes will remain in the historical memory of the Hispanic people as a true prophet; his heart extending compassion and blessings, and his voice used to speak up and ask for respect for human dignity. There is no doubt that those around grasped the face of the suffering Christ within him. Our gratitude and our prayers to God for abundant blessings upon him.
Petra Alexander is the Director of the Office of Hispanic Affairs.
Maraming Salamat, Bishop Barnes
By Cynthia Ronquillo
A trailblazer. An ardent defender of justice, peace, human rights, diversity and integrity of creation. A great mentor who inspired individuals and groups through his vision and leadership. A great listener, attuned to serious concerns and issues of his flock. A most interculturally competent individual who embodied his servant leadership motto of “Amar Es Entregarse.” The architect of the Filipino Seminarian Endowment Fund, emphasizing that the formation of those who are called to the priesthood is a priority.
A chronological timeline from the inception of the Filipino Ministry of the Diocese of San Bernardino to the present does not do justice to what this beloved bishop means to the Filipino community. For the past 27 years, Bishop Barnes has seen our growth from a handful of individuals to organized Filipino ministries active in 45 parishes.
As a sign of our gratitude for his belief in us, we offer our continued efforts to share our Filipino religious traditions and culture in order to fulfill his vision of a culturally rich, caring and faith-filled diocese.
Cynthia Ronquillo is the Chair of the Filipino Ministry in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
You are always our shepherd
By Uyên Như Nguyễn
Congratulations Bishop Barnes! On behalf of the Vietnamese Catholic community in the San Bernardino Diocese, we want to thank you for your support and guidance. Your caring personality and detail-orientated charisma instituted a long faithful reign in our Diocese. You started and supported the ethnic communities from “nothing” to now a multicultural Diocese instituted in faith.
Your accomplishments are beyond words but can be seen by the events and ministries that are available in this diocese. We hope to have your presence in future events because you are always our shepherd under any title. God bless you on your retirement, Bishop Barnes.
Uyên Như Nguyễn is the secretary of the Vietnamese Catholic Community in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
Thank you for your missionary heart
By Fr. Earl Henley, M.S.C.
Bishop Barnes, Miyu – Hello to you in the Luiseno greeting. Thank you for the Office of Native American Ministry you gave us. Our six communities/reservations are growing. Thank you for your missionary heart shown to our Indian people. Thank you for dream-continuing.
The communities of St. Joseph, Soboba; The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Torres Martinez; St. Rose, Santa Rosa; Our Lady of the Snows, Cahuilla; St. Mary, Morongo; and St. Michael, Pechanga, send you our prayers and love.
Fr. Earl Henley, M.S.C., ministers to various Indian reservations and is also the Director of the Office of Native American Ministry.