WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Bishop Michael W. Fisher, an auxiliary bishop of Washington since June 2018, to head the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y.
Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y., has been apostolic administrator of Buffalo since Dec. 4, 2019. Pope Francis named him to the post the same day he accepted the resignation of Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone, then 73 and two years shy of the age at which canon law requires bishops turn in their resignation to the pope.
Bishop Malone told diocesan Catholics he had asked Pope Francis to allow him to retire early so the people of the diocese “will be better served” by a new bishop who is “perhaps better able” to bring about “reconciliation, healing and renewal” in addressing the abuse crisis.
Bishop Fisher, 62, is the Washington Archdiocese’s vicar for clergy and secretary for ministerial leadership. In the role, he oversees the recruitment, formation and care of the clergy for the archdiocese.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States, announced his appointment to Buffalo Dec. 1 in Washington.
