FORT MYERS, Fla. — Is it possible a singular moment could quantify the emotions elicited during an episcopal ordination?

For those who witnessed the ordination of Bishop Emilio Biosca Agüero, it was a quiet moment before the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

His family brought up the gifts. Slowly his father ambled down the aisle of St. John XXIII Church in Fort Myers, along with his mother, who used a walker alongside her husband.

Meeting in front of the altar, as if in sync, Maria del Carmen Agüero and Emilio Rodolfo Biosca Sr. laid their hands upon their son’s cheek and forehead. Bishop Biosca put his hands upon each of his parents’ shoulders. Their heads bowed, the emotions of the moment were at the surface. They stayed like that for a minute, as tears filled the eyes of some in the pews, 1,600 strong.

Love. Gratitude. Commitment. Service. Humility. Longing. Trust. Grace. All in less than 60 seconds. That moment encapsulated the July 11 ordination and installation of Bishop Biosca as the third shepherd of the Diocese of Venice.

“Pope Leo is like a Hallmark card,” said Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, retired archbishop of Boston, who was the homilist and served as a co-consecrator of the new bishop, a fellow Capuchin Franciscan. “He cares to send the very best.”

The ordination marked the passing of leadership from now-retired Bishop Frank J. Dewane, who served the diocese for two decades. Cardinal O’Malley thanked him for his “outstanding leadership and fruitful tenure.”

The afternoon ordination drew faithful from each of the diocese’s 61 parishes and eight missions. Dozens of priests filled the pews, including fellow Capuchin Franciscans from across the United States.

The new bishop’s episcopal brothers of Florida were there for support, along with other U.S. prelates, including Bishop Jacques E. Fabre of Charleston, South Carolina, who served as a priest in the Diocese of Venice.

Also there to celebrate were prelates who had known Bishop Biosca during his years as a priest, including Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, retired archbishop of Washington, and retired Bishop Álvaro Julio Beyra Luarca of Santísimo Salvador de Bayamo y Manzanillo, Cuba. Bishop Biosca served as a priest in the Cuban diocesan and considers the elder bishop a mentor and friend.