DIOCESE OF BUFFALO WELCOMES NEW BISHOP

The Diocese of Buffalo was pleased to receive the news that Pope Francis appointed Bishop Michael William Fisher as the 15th bishop of Buffalo. Bishop Fisher has been serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington since 2018. He arrived in Buffalo Sunday, January 10 and will reside at St. Joseph’s Cathedral.

Bishop Fisher was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he grew up. Before becoming a priest, he acquired a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Maryland. He worked as a comptroller for a psychiatric practice in Bethesda before discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

Bishop Fisher attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington on June 23, 1990. He served in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington and other leadership positions in the Archdiocese before being named an auxiliary bishop by Pope Francis on June 8, 2018 for the Archdiocese of Washington. He was ordained to the episcopate on June 29, 2018.

On December 1, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Fisher as the 15th Bishop of Buffalo. He was installed as our bishop on Friday, January 15th at a ceremony in our Cathedral in the presence of Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Metropolitan Archbishop of New York. His motto is in “Faithfulness and love” from Psalm 25:10.

Because of the pandemic, the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal George, Cardinal Wuerl and many other bishops and priests were not able to attend the installation. Many of the New York State bishops were in attendance as well as diocesan priests and representatives of various groups of the diocese.

We welcome Bishop Fisher to Buffalo and wish him well and many years with us.