Michael William Fisher | |
---|---|
Bishop of Buffalo | |
Diocese | Buffalo |
Appointed | December 1, 2020 |
Installed | January 15, 2021 |
Predecessor | Richard Joseph Malone |
Orders | |
Ordination | June 23, 1990 by James Aloysius Hickey |
Consecration | June 29, 2018 by Donald Wuerl, Barry C. Knestout, and Mario E. Dorsonville |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Previous post(s) |
|
Motto | In Faithfulness and love |
Styles of Michael William Fisher | |
---|---|
Reference style | |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Bishop |
Michael William Fisher (born March 3, 1958) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Bishop of Buffalo since 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.
Michael Fisher was born on March 3, 1958, in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of five children. As a child, he was a newspaper deliverer for the Baltimore Sun and later worked at a gas station. [1]
Fisher attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute high school and is an Eagle Scout. He later earned a bachelor of science (B.S.) in business administration and accounting at the University of Maryland in 1984. [2] Fisher worked as a comptroller for a psychiatric practice in Bethesda, Maryland, before entering seminary at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1986.
Fisher was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington by Cardinal James A. Hickey on June 23, 1990. Fisher worked as a priest at Sacred Heart Parish in La Plata, Maryland, as pastor of Holy Family Parish in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland, in 1995, and as pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 1999. Fisher was named a chaplain to His Holiness by Pope John Paul II in 2005. [2]
In 2005, then-Archbishop Theodore McCarrick appointed Fisher vicar general for the apostolates, in which role he oversaw the archdiocesan ministries for education, ethnic ministries, social justice and service, parish life and youth ministry. In 2006, Cardinal Donald Wuerl appointed Fisher as vicar for clergy and secretary for ministerial leadership.
Fisher has served on various archdiocesan boards and committees, including the College of Consultors, the Priest Council, the Administrative Board, the Priest Retirement Board, the Clergy Personnel Board, the Deacon Review Board, the Deacon Council, the Needy Parish Committee, and the Forward in Faith Committee. [2]
Pope Francis appointed Fisher as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington on June 8, 2018. [3] [4] Fisher was consecrated by Cardinal Wuerl on June 29, 2018. [5]
Fisher's coat of arms as an auxiliary referenced those of several past archbishops. The colors of red and gold were used in the coats of arms of Archbishops Hickey, McCarrick, and Wuerl. The line embattled and red crosses reference the tower embattled and red cross in Wuerl's coat of arms. The lion, in addition to representing Fisher's patron saint, Mark the Evangelist, references the lion on Hickey's coat of arms. [2]
On December 1, 2020, Francis named Fisher as Bishop of the Diocese Buffalo. [6] [7] Regarding the sex abuse allegations against priests in the diocese, Fisher made this statement:
“Trust has been broken. Because of the clergy abuse, as well as other things. I really feel we need to rebuild that trust through our actions. Part of that will be looking out for those who are vulnerable and in need of our healing. I want to be part of the healing process.” [8]
Fisher's installation occurred on January 15, 2021. [9]
The Archdiocese of New York is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester to the north of the city. It does not include Brooklyn and Queens, which are part of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in northern and western Maryland in the United States. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore.
James Aloysius Hickey was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Washington from 1980 to 2000, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Hickey previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1974 to 1980.
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church for the District of Columbia and several Maryland counties in the United States.
The Archdiocese of Seattle is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in western Washington State in the United States. The Diocese was known as the Diocese of Nesqually from 1850 to 1907. The mother church of the archdiocese is St. James Cathedral in Seattle. The former cathedral is the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater in Vancouver. Its archbishop since 2019 is Paul D. Etienne.
The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Western New York in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York.
The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Connecticut in the United States. It is a metropolitan see.
The Diocese of Cleveland is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio in the United States. As of September 2020, the bishop is Edward Malesic. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located in Cleveland, is the mother church of the diocese.
The Diocese of Memphis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the western part of Tennessee in the United States.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. It was established on August 11, 1843. The diocese is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Donald William Wuerl is an American prelate, a cardinal, of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 2006 to 2018. He was elevated by Pope John Paul II to serve as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (1986–1987), and bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh (1988–2006). Pope Benedict XVI named Wuerl as archbishop of Washington and made him a cardinal in 2010.
William Edward Lori is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the 16th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland since 2012.
Martin David Holley is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, from 2016 to 2018, when he was removed by Pope Francis for financial mismanagement of the diocese.
Edward Kenneth Braxton is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Belleville in Illinois, from 2005 to 2020.
William Francis Malooly is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Malooly served as the bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware from 2008 until 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 2000 to 2008.
Barry Christopher Knestout is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Knestout has been serving as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia since 2017.
Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez was a Colombian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served Bishop of Houma–Thibodaux from March 2023 until his death. He was an auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., from 2015 to 2023.
Adam John Parker is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland since 2016. Parker has also served as vicar general and moderator of the curia.
Mark Edward Brennan is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. He was installed on August 22, 2019. Brennan previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 2017 to 2019.
Roy Edward Campbell, Jr. is an African-American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2017.