BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Tuesday Pope Francis appointed a new Bishop for the Diocese of Buffalo.
Bishop Michael William Fisher will serve as the 15th Bishop for the Diocese of Buffalo. He had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2018. The new head of the Diocese is a 62-year-old Baltimore native. He was ordained in 1990. He had also previously served as a Chaplain to Pope John Paul II in 2005.
The Diocese said in a release that much of Fisher's time in ministry has involved the continuing education of priests and aiding new pastors in their duties
“I am deeply humbled and grateful to the Holy Father for this gift to serve the people of Buffalo as their bishop. I am eager to become part of this vibrant faith community, with a proud and distinguished legacy of Catholic education, ministry and civic service. I offer my abiding gratitude and admiration to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger for the generosity of his spirit and his selfless devotion to serving as Apostolic Administrator during this interim period and while also leading the Diocese of Albany," Fisher said in a statement. "Though the challenges that currently confront the Diocese of Buffalo are many and significant, they are not equal to the resolve of so many committed lay women and men, devoted priests, deacons and religious across Western New York, who are no less determined to reveal God’s transformative love that has the power to bind every wound, renew and make us whole.”
Scharfenberger, the Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, had been serving as the leader of the Diocese since former Bishop Richard Malone resigned last December.
“This is a blessed and wonderful day for the good people across Western New York,” Scharfenberger said in a statement. "In Bishop Michael Fisher, they have been given a priest, pastor and bishop whose passion to serve, to listen, to heal and comfort have distinguished his 30-year ministry."
Bishop Fisher will be installed on January 15 in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Buffalo.
