Story in Spanish below – La historia en español aparece a continuación.
Bob Reddy – Florida Catholic
At a young age Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., knew he wanted to be a priest, but he was not sure about how or where.
As his interest in becoming a priest and joining a religious order grew, Bishop Emilio became fascinated with working in the missions but knew that as part of a religious order one never knew what assignments might happen. However, that was ok, because he took a vow of obedience, he said to himself. and the greatest contribution he could make to the mission of the church would be prayerful fidelity to God. Offering oneself to God completely would be more valuable than any apostolic contribution.
When Bishop Emilio entered the Capuchin Franciscans and made his first profession of vows of, poverty, chastity and obedience in Pittsburgh July 16, 1988, he did not know what God’s plans for him were.
Later, while studying theology in Washington D.C. in the late 1980’s, Bishop Eduardo Boza-Masvidal, who had been deported from Cuba in 1961, would visit for the yearly celebration and procession of Our Lady of Charity in September.
“Speaking privately with this great Bishop nurtured my spiritual life and the hope of one day serving in Cuba,” Bishop Emilio said. “During those years, I had also developed a friendship with Fr. Miguel Angel Loredo, OFM, who resided in Manhattan. He had been imprisoned for 10 years in Cuba and now dedicated his time to serve as an ordinary Franciscan priest. He also wrote poetry, painted and occasionally offer his testimony of the prison conditions in Cuba before the United Nations Human Rights Office in Geneva.”
Bishop Emilio admitted that he earnestly wanted to be sent to the missions, and was always interested in serving in Cuba, where there was a great need, and few priests. He expected he might serve in the United States for some time to gain necessary experience before even being considered for the missions.
Papua New Guinea
“I was willing to go to West Virigina, Virginia, Maryland or go anywhere, but around the time of my ordination there were several missionaries returning from Papua New Guinea for various reasons and I was asked if I was interested in going. I said, ‘Sure!’”
The assignment was a surprise to his family, so much so that his sister, Beatrice, moved her wedding forward by two months so her brother could officiate the ceremony.
Papua New Guinea is located north of Australia, about 9,000 miles from Washington, far from everything Bishop Emilio has ever known. The Capuchins took over the missionary work there in the early 1950s.
He studied and researched the region and trusting in Divine Providence and went with only one bag. “I thought, ‘Let me go to this place and only think and worry about this place, the church, and the people there, without carrying many things from the outside.’” He was assigned to the Capuchin mission in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, in what he, and the locals, called the bush, and what most people would consider to be the deep and rugged jungle.
The mission is considered one of first contact, interacting with isolated indigenous people who have had no little or no dealings with the outside world. From 1994 to 2004 he served predominantly the Kewa and Wiri speaking peoples in the Kagua, Ialibu and Pangia areas of the Southern Highlands and became fluent in Melanesian Tok Pisin. During this period, he worked closely with lay leaders and catechists. From 2002-2004 he served as the Director of Novices for the Capuchin Novitiate in Pangia.
“Working in a first contact – first evangelization mission, the church was very dynamic. It was full of life. It was fantastic,” Bishop Emilio said. “As a first assignment, it was very formative … to be present with the people was extremely important and also learning and depending on the lay leaders who knew the manner in which the church had been implanted and had grown. I learned a great deal from my Capuchin brother missionaries and from the religious women who had been ministering in the Highlands for many years. They loved and respected the people.” He said that it would be difficult to exaggerate the manner in which the Capuchin brothers in Papua New Guinea formed him as a person, as a missionary and as a Capuchin.
Bishop Emilio took to missionary work easily, even learning to make fire with grass and bamboo. “For me it was not too difficult or sacrificial. at all. I enjoyed receiving drinking water from streams and bathing in the rivers. I’ve always liked the outdoors. It was really like a long camping trip.”
He would spend a week or two in the bush, moving from place to place with another Capuchin brother or with lay leaders, while learning the language and customs of the people. “As a young priest, it was a tremendous chance to go to a foreign country to serve. It was good, because it stretched me spiritually in so many ways and I learned so much.”
Working closely with the lay people, all of whom had been converted to Catholicism, was essential in gradually learning how a polygamous and tribal society is transformed into a Christian community that works to establish personal and exclusive marriages for life.
“We had to be able to walk with the people, to listen to what they were doing, to accompany them… The missionary impulse came naturally from the Holy Spirit, through prayer and reflection, but also listening a lot to the people and observing how God worked in their lives. What a tremendous privilege to live there and work there. That mission really formed me as a Capuchin.”
Besides the formation that Capuchins have before taking vows, they are called to a regular life of prayer, to live in fraternity and to form a mission and apostolate together, as a way of evangelizing.
Bishop Emilio had the opportunity to return to Papua New Guinea for two weeks in 2024, for a Capuchin Assembly of the brothers. In what he described as a fantastic experience, he was able to visit some of the people with whom he had worked. “I was surprised, because after 20 years I could speak Pidgin in about one day.”
Cuba
While the idea of being a missionary in Cuba was always in the back of his mind, Bishop Emilio explained his interest was rekindled by a visit to Papua New Guinea by member of the General Council of the Capuchins from Rome who said there was a need for missionaries in Cuba. Upon his 2005 return to the U.S., he sought advice from Bishop Agustín Román of Miami and then rector of the seminary and later Bishop Felipe Estevez of Miami about the process of entering to serve in Cuba.
Bishop Emilio’s first brief visit to Cuba had been in 2000. He was met by family and stayed with different relatives in Havana, Camaguey (where his parents were from), Santa Clara, Cienfuegos and Trinidad. He returned in the summer of 2005 and made connections with the church there, including fellow Capuchins.
“This was very beneficial,” Bishop Emilio said. “A natural way to learn, visiting family and learning how they lived their daily lives. It helped lay the groundwork for my return.”
In preparation for the upcoming mission work in Cuba, Bishop Emilio studied at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at Catholic University in Washington, earning his STL degree (Licentiate in Sacred Theology), Magna Cum Laude.
In 2007, Bishop Emilio entered Cuba, in collaboration with the Capuchin Spanish delegation of Madrid. He served in Cuba for 12 years. He spent his first year in Havana, then three years as Pastor of La Pastora Parish in Santa Clara, and the last eight years on the eastern side of the country in the Diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo, where he was Pastor of La Purisima Concepcion de Manzanillo. He was also elected as Vicar for Religious in the Cuban Diocese of Bayamo.
Cuba is a totalitarian communist state. Along with only Albania, Cuba had declared itself officially an atheist state. “There are many paradoxes in Cuba. The church had been systematically eliminated from civil life, but some churches were permitted to exist, and the doors were sometimes permitted to be opened. For many years, anyone who entered and participated in the life of the church was perceived as an anti-social, anti-revolutionary person and ostracized,” Bishop Emilio explained. The 1998 visit by St. Pope John Paul II was perceived to have alleviated some restrictions.
Even with more openness, there are very few priests in the country and less than one percent of the population is actually practicing the faith regularly. The damage of more than 60 years of communism has been felt in every aspect of the culture and the society. To this day, restrictions are severe.
“Since religion is natural to every person human, everyone in Cuba is naturally religious,” Bishop Emilio said. “Religion was vague for many but has formed a part of the Cuban culture and history for centuries.”
His missionary work focused on evangelization through presence and service. For example, the religious education programs had to be adapted due to severe limitations on every kind of catechetical and teaching material, the lack of formed and available catechists and limitations regarding free time and the availability of the people.
Similar to his mission work in Papua New Guinea, he saw a great need for evangelization through creative OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) programs, something he has carried with him to each posting.
To accomplish this, Bishop Emilio said the first step was keeping the church doors open and being available or having an educated lay member of the community available to serve as “porter,” at the church doors, “so people that if someone might cross the street and wander into the church we could be prepared. Many people did come. They came looking for peace and a place to pray, because inside in the deepest part of their souls, there was a spiritual life that had been formally denied in society for many years, but it still existed within them. The people were yearning and looking to the church because they were seeking God.”
In 2017, four of Bishop Emilio’s sisters were able to visit him in Cuba and they saw first-hand how served the people by organizing Chapels throughout the region so that he and the Capuchin brothers could bring the Mass, catechetical instruction and service by founding “comedores,” or community kitchens that could provide meals to the poorest and also serve as a place to gather the community for special events and celebrations.
Beatrice Pennefather, one of Bishop Emilio’s sisters, said “there was no mission community of the church that he did not treat as if it was the only one.”
“It was an amazing trip,” said Elena Doyle, another of Bishop Emilio’s sisters. “He would rise early in the morning spend each day with the people. He built up a tremendous relationship with them. His energy and passion for serving the people was incredible. We couldn’t keep up.”
Patricia Albisu, the youngest sister, said the trip included visiting where their parents and grandparents grew up and seeing the dental office their father worked decades before. They even connected with some family there.
The sisters also saw how Bishop Emilio was beloved by the people, “because people naturally gravitated toward him. He did wonderful things for the people.”
Patricia was also fascinated when visiting one location and people were praying the rosary but in a different way, reciting the Hail Mary and the Our Father and adding more prayers at the end. “Beautiful!”
One way to raise the importance of the church in the community was by organizing public processions. These would go through a lengthy process to get permission, so when they did happen, Bishop Emilio said every effort was made to make them memorable.
“They were very well done, because we would take the time to decorate and prepare, adding a beautiful choir and scripture readings to allow for a more spiritual participation,” Bishop Emilio said. “It was a way in which the church could go out and show the faith in a very public way. Many people would come out to see what was happening.”
Another boost for the church in Cuba was through Catholic Charities, which provided material aid through the church communities to all, whether Catholic or not. “It would help the neediest and that made a big impact.” This would also help the small Catholic communities evaluate a situation and try to form a response, even if severely limited.
Washington
By 2019, Bishop Emilio has served in international missions for most his life as a Capuchin and admits he would have been happy to stay overseas for the rest of his life if that was where God needed him.
That was not meant to be, as he was appointed as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington on March 1, 2019. The Shrine of the Sacred Heart has 5,000 families and is culturally diverse, offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in five languages each weekend (English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese).
The vibrant parish is comprised of 95 percent immigrants. “The people there really love their church and their parish. During the pandemic, people would come in and wipe down the pews and benches. It is a beautiful community. Throughout COVID the lay leaders learned the changing restrictions and adapted themselves in order to keep the church open so that the faithful could receive Holy Communion.”
At a farewell reception on June 21, as an expression of their gratitude toward Bishop Emilio, the parish staff presented him with a photo album of the many blessings he brought to the parish community: weddings, baptisms, First Holy Communions, religious education programs and something from every group at the parish, no matter how small.
The Parish faced hardships in the past year as a number of parishioners and other people connected to the parish were picked up during immigration sweeps. While the faithful understood reasons why immigration needs to be regulated, Bishop Emilio said that the parish had to respond, “because it was happening to us. It was not theoretical. It was organic. The parishioners responded in a most general manner by forming the St. Mother Cabrini Ministry in August of 2025.” Bishop Emilio added that the English-speaking community at Sacred Heart was generous and hardworking. Financial assistance and volunteers also came from outside the parish.
The ministry has more than 100+ volunteers who are divided into four groups: those who accompany the impacted families spiritually; those who bring needed food and supplies to homes; those who offer legal support; and those who offer economic assistance.
From the jungles of Papua New Guinea, then to the communist nation of Cuba, to a poor parish in Washington, to now the Diocese of Venice, Bishop Emilio takes over with a gift of grace and leadership that has grown through years of diverse experience.
A statement from Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, on the appointment of Bishop Emilio to Venice states: “He has the faith and witness which attracts men and women to the person of Jesus Christ. He piercingly preaches the Gospel in its integrity and makes the call to conversion real and engaging.”
Perhaps his sister Beatrice describes him the best when she said he lives his life like St. Francis of Assisi, by example. “That’s him.”
Un llamado a ser misionero
Una vida sin fronteras al servicio del pueblo de Dios
Desde joven, el Obispo Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., sabía que quería ser sacerdote, pero no estaba seguro de cómo ni dónde.
A medida que crecía su interés en convertirse en sacerdote y unirse a una orden religiosa, Obispo Emilio —como ha pedido que le llamen— se fascinó con el trabajo en las misiones, aunque sabía que, al formar parte de una orden religiosa, nunca se sabía qué destinos podrían surgir. Sin embargo, se decía a sí mismo que eso le parecía bien porque había hecho un voto de obediencia, y la mayor contribución que podía hacer a la misión de la Iglesia sería la fidelidad orante a Dios. Ofrecerse completamente a Dios sería más valioso que cualquier contribución apostólica.
Cuando Obispo Emilio ingresó a la Orden de los Franciscanos Capuchinos e hizo su primera profesión de votos —pobreza, castidad y obediencia— en Pittsburgh el 16 de julio de 1988, desconocía cuáles eran los planes de Dios para él.
Mientras estudiaba teología en Washington D.C. a finales de la década de 1980, el Obispo Eduardo Boza-Masvidal, quien había sido deportado de Cuba en 1961, visitaba la ciudad para la celebración y procesión anual de la Virgen de la Caridad en septiembre.
“Hablar en privado con ese gran obispo alimentó mi vida espiritual y la esperanza de algún día servir en Cuba”, aseguró Obispo Emilio. “Durante esos años también desarrollé una amistad con el P. Miguel Ángel Loredo, O.F.M., quien residía en Manhattan. Estuvo encarcelado durante 10 años en Cuba y ahora dedicaba su tiempo a servir como un sacerdote franciscano ordinario. También escribía poesía, pintaba, y ocasionalmente ofrecía su testimonio ante la Oficina de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas en Ginebra sobre las condiciones de las prisiones en Cuba”.
Obispo Emilio admitió que sentía un deseo profundo de ser enviado a las misiones, y siempre estuvo interesado en servir en Cuba, donde había gran necesidad pero pocos sacerdotes. Suponía que serviría en los Estados Unidos por un tiempo para adquirir la experiencia necesaria antes de ser considerado para las misiones.
Papúa Nueva Guinea
“Estaba dispuesto a ir a West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland o a cualquier lugar, pero durante el tiempo de mi ordenación varios misioneros regresaban de Papúa Nueva Guinea por diversas razones y me preguntaron si estaba interesado en ir. Les respondí: ‘¡Claro!’”
El destino fue una sorpresa para su familia, tanto que su hermana Beatrice Pennefather adelantó su boda dos meses para que su hermano pudiera celebrar la ceremonia.
Papúa Nueva Guinea está ubicada al norte de Australia, a unas 9,000 millas (14,484 km) de Washington, lejos de todo lo que el Obispo Emilio había conocido. Los capuchinos asumieron el trabajo misionero allí a principios de la década de 1950.
Él estudió y se informó sobre la región y, confiando en la Divina Providencia, se marchó con una sola maleta.
“Pensaba: ‘Déjenme ir a este lugar y solo pensar y preocuparme por este lugar, la iglesia y la gente allí, sin llevar muchas cosas externas’”, compartió. Fue asignado a la misión capuchina en las Tierras Altas del Sur de Papúa Nueva Guinea, en lo que él y los locales llamaban “el monte”, y que la mayoría describiría como una selva profunda y escarpada.
La misión se considera de “primer contacto”, al interactuar con pueblos indígenas aislados que han tenido poco o ningún contacto con el mundo exterior. De 1994 a 2004 sirvió principalmente a los pueblos de habla kewa y wiri en las áreas de Kagua, Ialibu y Pangia, y llegó a dominar el tok pisin melanesio. Durante ese período trabajó estrechamente con líderes laicos y catequistas. De 2002 a 2004 fue director de novicios en el noviciado capuchino en Pangia.
“Al trabajar en una misión de primer contacto —de primera evangelización— la iglesia era muy dinámica. Estaba llena de vida. Era maravilloso”, afirmó Obispo Emilio.
“Como primer destino, fue muy formativo. Estar presente con la gente era extremadamente importante, y también aprender y depender de los líderes laicos que conocían la manera en que la iglesia había sido establecida y había crecido. Aprendí muchísimo de mis hermanos capuchinos misioneros y de las religiosas que habían servido en las Tierras Altas durante muchos años. Amaban y respetaban a la gente”.
Añadió que sería difícil exagerar la manera en que los hermanos capuchinos en Papúa Nueva Guinea lo formaron como persona, como misionero y como capuchino.
Obispo Emilio se adaptó con facilidad al trabajo misionero, y hasta aprendió a hacer fuego con hierba y bambú.
“No me resultó difícil en absoluto, ni lo viví como un sacrificio. Disfrutaba recibir agua de los arroyos para beber, y bañarme en los ríos. Siempre me ha gustado estar al aire libre. En realidad, fue como un largo viaje de campamento”, afirmó.
Pasaba una o dos semanas en el monte, trasladándose de un lugar a otro con algún hermano capuchino o con líderes laicos, mientras aprendía el idioma y las costumbres del pueblo.
“Como sacerdote joven, servir en un país extranjero fue una oportunidad tremenda. Fue una buena experiencia, porque me hizo crecer espiritualmente de muchas maneras y aprendí muchísimo”, aseguró.
Trabajar de cerca con los laicos, todos ellos convertidos al catolicismo, era esencial para aprender cómo una sociedad tribal y polígama se transforma en una comunidad cristiana que trabaja para establecer matrimonios exclusivos para toda la vida.
“Teníamos que caminar con la gente, escuchar lo que hacían, acompañarles. El impulso misionero venía naturalmente del Espíritu Santo, a través de la oración y la reflexión, pero también al escuchar con atención a la gente y observar cómo Dios obraba en sus vidas”, declaró. “¡Qué privilegio tan grande vivir allí y trabajar allí! Esa misión realmente me formó como capuchino”.
Además de la formación que los capuchinos reciben antes de profesar sus votos, están llamados a una vida regular de oración, a vivir en fraternidad, y a formar una misión y apostolado juntos como forma de evangelización.
Obispo Emilio tuvo la oportunidad de regresar a Papúa Nueva Guinea por dos semanas en 2024 para una asamblea capuchina de los hermanos. Lo describió como una experiencia maravillosa, y pudo visitar a algunas de las personas con las que había trabajado.
“Me sorprendió, porque después de 20 años pude hablar pidgin en aproximadamente un día”, recordó.
Cuba
Aunque la idea de ser misionero en Cuba siempre estuvo en su mente, Obispo Emilio explicó que su interés se reavivó cuando un miembro del Consejo General de los Capuchinos en Roma visitó Papúa Nueva Guinea y comentó que había necesidad de misioneros en Cuba.
Al regresar a los Estados Unidos en 2005, buscó consejo del Obispo Auxiliar de Miami, Mons. Agustín Román, luego del rector del seminario, y más tarde del Obispo Felipe Estévez, de Miami, sobre el proceso para servir en Cuba.
La primera visita breve de Obispo Emilio a Cuba fue en el año 2000. Fue recibido por familiares y se hospedó con distintos parientes en La Habana, Camagüey (de donde eran sus padres), Santa Clara, Cienfuegos y Trinidad. Regresó en el verano de 2005 y estableció conexiones con la Iglesia allí, incluidos otros capuchinos.
“Fue muy beneficioso”, dijo, “una manera natural de aprender al visitar a la familia y ver cómo llevaba su vida diaria. Eso ayudó a disponer el terreno para mi regreso”.
Con el fin de prepararse para la misión en Cuba, Obispo Emilio estudió en el Pontificio Instituto Juan Pablo II para Estudios sobre el Matrimonio y la Familia, en la Universidad Católica de Washington, donde obtuvo la Licenciatura en Sagrada Teología (STL) con la distinción magna cum laude.
En 2007, Obispo Emilio llegó a Cuba en colaboración con la delegación capuchina española de Madrid. Sirvió en Cuba durante 12 años. Pasó su primer año en La Habana, luego tres años como párroco de La Pastora en Santa Clara, y los últimos ocho años en la zona oriental del país, en la Diócesis de Bayamo-Manzanillo, donde fue párroco de La Purísima Concepción de Manzanillo. También fue elegido Vicario para Religiosos en dicha diócesis.
Cuba es un estado comunista totalitario. Junto con Albania, Cuba se había declarado oficialmente un estado ateo.
“Hay muchas paradojas en Cuba. La Iglesia había sido eliminada sistemáticamente de la vida civil, pero algunas iglesias se toleraron, y en ocasiones se les permitía abrir sus puertas”, explicó. “Durante muchos años, cualquiera que entrara y participara en la vida de la Iglesia era percibido como una persona antisocial, antirrevolucionaria, y se le marginaba”.
La visita de San Juan Pablo II en 1998 se percibió como un alivio de algunas restricciones. Pero incluso con mayor apertura, hay muy pocos sacerdotes en el país y menos del uno por ciento de la población practica la fe con regularidad. El daño de más de 60 años de comunismo se ha sentido en todos los aspectos de la cultura y la sociedad. Hasta el día de hoy, las restricciones son severas.
“Dado que la religión es inherente a toda persona, en Cuba todos son, de algún modo, naturalmente religiosos”, afirmó Obispo Emilio. “Para muchos, la religión era algo difuso, pero ha formado parte de la cultura y la historia cubanas durante siglos”.
Su trabajo misionero se centró en la evangelización a través de la presencia y el servicio. Por ejemplo, los programas de educación religiosa tuvieron que adaptarse debido a las severas limitaciones en todo tipo de material catequético y educativo, a la falta de catequistas formados y disponibles, y a las restricciones relacionadas con el tiempo libre y la disponibilidad de la gente.
Similar a su labor en Papúa Nueva Guinea, vio una gran necesidad de evangelización a través de programas creativos de la Orden de Iniciación Cristiana para Adultos (OICA), algo que ha llevado consigo a cada destino.
Para lograrlo, Obispo Emilio dijo que el primer paso era mantener las puertas de la iglesia abiertas y estar disponible, o tener un laico educado disponible como “portero” en la entrada, “de modo que si alguien cruzaba la calle y entraba a la iglesia, pudiéramos estar preparados. Muchos iban. Llegaban buscando paz y un lugar para orar, porque en lo más profundo de sus almas existía una vida espiritual que había sido formalmente negada en la sociedad durante muchos años, pero que aún permanecía dentro de ellos. La gente anhelaba y buscaba la Iglesia porque buscaba a Dios”.
En 2017, cuatro de las hermanas del Obispo Emilio pudieron visitarlo en Cuba y vieron cómo servía a la gente al organizar capillas en toda la región para que él y los hermanos capuchinos pudieran llevar la misa, la instrucción catequética y el servicio, al establecer “comedores” o cocinas comunitarias que ofrecían comidas a los más pobres y servían como lugar de reunión para eventos y celebraciones.
“No había comunidad misionera de la Iglesia que él no tratara como si fuera la única”, dijo una de sus hermanas, Beatrice Pennefather.
“Fue un viaje impresionante”, compartió Elena Doyle, otra de sus hermanas. “Se levantaba temprano y pasaba cada día con la gente. Desarrolló una relación tremenda con ella. Su energía y pasión por servir era increíble. No podíamos seguirle el ritmo”.
Patricia Albisu, la hermana menor, contó que el viaje incluyó la visita a los lugares donde crecieron sus padres y abuelos, y ver el consultorio dental donde su padre trabajó décadas antes. Incluso llegaron a establecer contacto con algunos familiares allí.
También vieron cómo Obispo Emilio era amado por la gente, “gravitaban hacia él con naturalidad. Realizó cosas maravillosas por el pueblo”.
Albisu también quedó fascinada al visitar un lugar donde la gente rezaba el rosario de una manera diferente al recitar el Ave María y el Padre Nuestro y agregar más oraciones al final.
“¡Hermoso!”, manifestó Albisu.
Una manera de elevar la importancia de la Iglesia en la comunidad era al organizar procesiones públicas. Estas requerían un largo proceso de permisos, y cuando se lograban, se hacía todo lo posible para que fueran memorables.
“Estaban muy bien hechas, porque nos tomábamos el tiempo para decorar y preparar, se añadía un coro hermoso y lecturas bíblicas para permitir una participación más espiritual”, contó Obispo Emilio. “De ese modo, la Iglesia podía salir y demostrar la fe de manera muy pública. Muchas personas se asomaban para ver lo que sucedía”.
Caridades Católicas representó otro impulso para la Iglesia en Cuba al proporcionar ayuda material a través de las comunidades eclesiales a todos, fueran católicos o no.
“Ayudaba a los más necesitados y eso tenía un gran impacto”, observó el obispo. Esto también ayudaba a las pequeñas comunidades católicas a evaluar situaciones y tratar de presentar una respuesta, incluso si estaban severamente limitadas.
Washington
Para 2019, Obispo Emilio había servido en misiones internacionales la mayor parte de su vida como capuchino, y admitió que habría sido feliz quedándose en el extranjero el resto de su vida si ese hubiera sido el plan de Dios.
Pero no fue así, ya que el 1 de marzo de 2019 fue nombrado párroco del Santuario del Sagrado Corazón, en Washington, D.C. El Santuario tiene 5,000 familias y es una comunidad culturalmente diversa que cada fin de semana celebra el santo sacrificio de la misa en cinco idiomas: inglés, español, criollo haitiano, vietnamita y portugués. La vibrante parroquia está compuesta en un 95 por ciento por inmigrantes.
“La gente allí realmente ama su iglesia y su parroquia. Durante la pandemia, la gente iba y limpiaba los bancos. Es una comunidad hermosa”, indicó. “Los líderes laicos aprendieron las restricciones cambiantes durante el COVID, y se adaptaron para mantener la iglesia abierta y que los fieles pudieran recibir la Sagrada Comunión”.
El 21 de junio, en una recepción de despedida, el personal parroquial le presentó como expresión de gratitud un álbum de fotos con las muchas bendiciones que llevó a la comunidad: bodas, bautismos, primeras comuniones, programas de educación religiosa, y momentos de cada grupo de la parroquia, sin importar cuán pequeño fuera.
La parroquia enfrentó dificultades el año anterior cuando varios feligreses y otras personas vinculadas a la misma fueron detenidas durante redadas de inmigración.
Aunque los fieles entendían las razones por las que la inmigración debe ser regulada, Obispo Emilio sostuvo que la parroquia tuvo que responder, “porque nos estaba pasando a nosotros. No era teórico; era orgánico. Los feligreses respondieron de manera general al establecer el Ministerio Santa Madre Cabrini en agosto de 2025”.
Obispo Emilio añadió que la comunidad angloparlante del Santuario fue generosa y trabajadora. También recibieron apoyo económico, y a voluntarios de fuera de la parroquia. El ministerio cuenta con más de 100 voluntarios divididos en cuatro grupos: el que acompaña espiritualmente a las familias afectadas; el que lleva alimentos y suministros necesarios a los hogares; el que ofrece apoyo legal; y el que ofrece asistencia económica.
Desde las selvas de Papúa Nueva Guinea, luego a la nación comunista de Cuba, hasta una parroquia pobre en Washington, y ahora a la Diócesis de Venice, Obispo Emilio asume su destino con un don de gracia y liderazgo que ha crecido a través de años de experiencia diversa.
“Tiene la fe y el testimonio que atraen a hombres y mujeres a la persona de Jesucristo”, expresa una declaración del Cardenal Robert McElroy, Arzobispo de Washington, sobre el nombramiento de Obispo Emilio a Venice. “Predica el Evangelio con integridad y hace que el llamado a la conversión sea real y cautivador”.
Su hermana Beatrice Pennefather quizás lo describe mejor al asegurar que Obispo Emilio vive su vida como San Francisco de Asís, con el ejemplo. “Ese es él”.
For those who witnessed the ordination of Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., it was a quiet moment before the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The ordination marked the passing of leadership from now-retired Bishop Emeritus Frank J. Dewane, who served the diocese for two decades. Cardinal O’Malley thanked him for his “outstanding leadership and fruitful tenure.”
He had been serving as pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart since March 1, 2019, when on May 13, Pope Leo XIV appointed him as the third bishop of Venice, succeeding Bishop Dewane, who was retiring at age 76.
In 2007, Bishop Emilio entered Cuba, in collaboration with the Capuchin Spanish delegation of Madrid. He spent his first year in Havana, then three years as pastor of La Pastora Parish in Santa Clara, and his last eight years there on the eastern side of the country in the Diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo.
While the new bishop might feel now or at times “unworthy” of his position, Cardinal O’Malley stressed that is a good thing. He reminded him he will be a “fisher of new disciples” and that he should rely on the gift of God, which is not a spirit of “cowardice, but of power, of love and of self-control.”
“This is the vocation of every shepherd in the Church — to love Christ’s people; to care for them with tenderness; to strengthen the weak; to seek the lost; to accompany the suffering, whether wealthy or whether poor. To proclaim the Gospel faithfully and always place the good of the flock above personal self-interests. The shepherd belongs to the people. Together the shepherd and the flock belong to Christ.”
Next, Bishop-elect Emilio stood before Archbishop Wenski, who questioned the bishop-elect concerning his resolve to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Bishop, known as the Promise of the Elect. The answers to the first eight questions were “I do” and to the last, “I do, with the help of God.” (See the Promise of the Elect below.)
Dear brother, do you resolve to carry out until death with the grace of the Holy Spirit the office entrusted to us by the Apostles and to be passed on to you through the laying on of our hands?
With profound gratitude, I am keenly aware that the office of bishop is to be embraced under the passion, death and resurrection of the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, our Savior. I give thanks to Almighty God, whose providence has brought us together on this blessed day.
He said it with a smile to those gathered for solemn vespers July 10, 2026, at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers. The Capuchin Franciscan arrived in Southwest Florida for the ordination of his friend and fellow Capuchin Bishop-Elect Emilio Biosca Agüero, O.F.M. Cap., as third bishop of Venice. While the ordination was the afternoon of July 11, vespers were held the night before. An evening shower in July is not unusual. But it would seem Mother Nature wanted to welcome the new bishop with a bit more flair. When a lightning bolt with visible crackling struck overhead, seasoned residents braced themselves for the loud boom that reverberated against the walls inside and outside the church. Then came the downpour.
The gifts the bishop-elect offers the Church were also instilled by his family, including his parents — Emilio Rodolfo Sr. and Carmen de Maria Agüero — who celebrate 65 years of marriage on July 29 and renewed their wedding vows at Bishop Emilio’s first mass as bishop on July 12. In an interview with the Florida Catholic following vespers his parents said they have many different emotions about their son’s appointment. They feel blessed and honored about the appointment but were also surprised.
Bishop Emilio comes to the diocese with strong family values, instilled in him in during his childhood and influenced through family ties in Cuba; the formation into a man of God as part of the Capuchin Franciscan religious order; the rewarding and enlightening missionary work in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and then communist Cuba; and leading a diverse and thriving Shrine of the Sacred Heart parish in the nation’s capital.
La familia residió primero en Pueblo, Colorado, y luego en Kansas City, Missouri, donde su padre, quien era dentista en Cuba, trabajó, estudió y se graduó de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City. Luego se mudaron cerca de familiares en Virginia, donde su padre abrió un consultorio. Obispo Emilio asistió a las escuelas católicas St. Anthony y St. Leo, y luego a la escuela secundaria Bishop O’Connell en el norte de Virginia.
“Realmente lo disfruté”, manifestó Obispo Emilio. “Pienso que se establecieron buenas bases para la próxima labor pastoral que vendrá después de la ordenación”.
Bishop Emilio was very involved in sports growing up, particularly with soccer and was good enough to compete on travel teams, but even for important games, family would come first. “I would sometimes miss important matches because we would go to the mountains with our grandparents or other members of the family. My grandparents and family were more important. That was very impactful.”
Obispo Emilio nació en diciembre de 1964 en Colorado Springs, Colorado, el tercero de siete hijos y el primero de su familia en nacer en los Estados Unidos. Sus hermanas María y Ana Cristina nacieron en Cuba en junio de 1962 y enero de 1964, respectivamente.
Los Biosca llegaron a Colorado en 1964 con sus dos hijas, María y Ana Cristina, quien se encontraba gravemente enferma en ese momento. Su madre embarazada esperaba el nacimiento de Obispo Emilio. Tras el nacimiento, la familia continuó buscando ayuda para Ana Cristina, pero la niña falleció el 8 de diciembre de 1966. La familia se mudó a Kansas City, Missouri, donde su padre —quien era dentista en Cuba— trabajó y estudió, graduándose de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City. Se mudaron cerca de familiares en Virginia, donde su padre abrió un consultorio.
