Bishop Telesforo Alexander Isaac was consecrated bishpo in 1972 and led the Diocese of the Dominican Republic until 1991. Photo: Diocese of the Dominican Republic
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of the Dominican Republic and Episcopal leaders churchwide are paying tribute to Bishop Telésforo Alexander Isaac, the church’s first native Dominican bishop, who died July 4 at age 96.
Isaac, who had been the oldest Episcopal bishop, was consecrated bishop in 1972 and led his diocese until 1991. He later served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, from 1991 to 1996, and as an interim bishop in the Diocese of the Virgin Islands, in 1996 and again in 2003.
The Diocese of the Dominican Republic celebrated Isaac’s life July 6 with a Holy Eucharist in his honor at Cathedral of the Epiphany in Santo Domingo. His family has scheduled a memorial service for July 12 at Iglesia Episcopal San Esteban in San Pedro de Macorís.
Isaac “was a defender of human rights and a conciliator, a great human being with deep faith, respectful and committed to service,” Dominican Republic Bishop Moisés Quezada Mota told the news site Hoy in an article about Isaac’s death.
Southwest Florida Bishop Douglas F. Scharf called Isaac “man full of wisdom and grace” who served the church for almost seven decades.
“He will always have a special place in my heart as the bishop who confirmed me and continued to support me throughout my ministry,” Scharf said in an online article. “I am grateful to have known him and to be inspired by his deep and abiding faith.”
Issac was born on Jan. 5, 1929, in San Pedro de Macorís. He studied at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of Haiti, the Caribbean Seminary in Puerto Rico, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain. He was ordained a deacon in 1958 and a priest later that year. He served as a priest for 33 before his consecration as bishop.
During his episcopate, Issac founded two schools, San Gabriel in Consuelo and Jesús Nazareno in San Francisco de Macorís. He also established the Centro de Estudios Teológicos (Center for Theological Studies) in Santo Domingo. Isaac also was the author of “Consejería Pastoral Noutética,” a 2017 anthology of articles in Spanish on spiritual counseling.
In 2024, he was recognized by the Dominican organization Roundtable for Dialogue and Christian Representation, for “a privileged and faithful pen, whose legacy in the themes of faith has illuminated generations. His writing, deeply rooted in truth, remains a beacon of inspiration and wisdom.”
“I feel very happy,” Isaac said upon receiving a plaque from the organization, according to a Diocese of Southwest Florida article. “I exercise every day, I eat quite well, I do my prayers and I write at four in the morning, since at that time no one bothers me and one feels that Jesus is there looking at me.”