Michael William Fisher

Michael William Fisher (born March 3, 1958) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York since 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington in the District of Columbia.

Early life
Michael Fisher was born on March 3, 1958, in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of five children. As a child, he delivered newspapers for The Baltimore Sun and worked at a gas station. Fisher attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

After his high school graduation, Fisher attended the University of Maryland, earning a Bachelor of Science in business administration and accounting at the University of Maryland in 1984. Fisher then worked as a comptroller for a psychiatric practice in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1986, he entered Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Priesthood
Fisher was ordained a priest at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington for the Archdiocese of Washington by Cardinal James A. Hickey on June 23, 1990.

After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Fisher as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in La Plata, Maryland. He was moved in 1995 to Holy Family Parish in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland, to serve as pastor there. Four years later, the archdiocese transferred him to be pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Fisher was named a chaplain to his holiness by Pope John Paul II in 2005.

In 2005, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick appointed Fisher as 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 served on 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.

Auxiliary bishop of Washington
Pope Francis appointed Fisher as an auxiliary bishop of Washington at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the District of Columbia on June 8, 2018. Fisher was consecrated by Wuerl on June 29, 2018, with Bishops Barry C. Knestout and Mario E. Dorsonville acting as co-consecrators.

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.

Bishop of Buffalo
On December 1, 2020, Francis named Fisher as bishop of Buffalo. 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.”"Fisher's installation occurred on January 15, 2021.