Carl Anthony Fisher
His Excellency, The Most Reverend Carl Anthony Fisher | |
|---|---|
| Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Los Angeles |
| Appointed | December 23, 1986 |
| Term ended | September 3, 1993 |
| Other post(s) | Titular Bishop of Tlos |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 2, 1973 by Joseph Bernard Brunini |
| Consecration | February 23, 1987 by Roger Michael Mahony, John James Ward, Juan Alfredo Arzube |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 24, 1945 Pascagoula, Mississippi, US |
| Died | September 3, 1993 (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Buried | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels |
| Alma mater | Epiphany Apostolic College St. Joseph's Seminary |
| Motto | Teach all I have commanded |
Carl Anthony Fisher, SSJ (November 24, 1945 – September 2, 1993) was an African-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Black Catholic bishop on the West Coast.[1]
Fisher was a member of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. He was the third Josephite to be made a bishop. During the 2000s, multiple individuals reported that Fisher had sexually abused them as children in both Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Carl Fisher was born on November 24, 1945 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He attended Epiphany Apostolic College in Baltimore, Maryland, and St. Joseph's Seminary in Washington, D.C.[1]
Priesthood
[edit]Fisher was ordained to the priesthood for the Josephites at St. Peter Church in Pascagoula by Bishop Joseph Bernard Brunini on June 2, 1973.[2]He then served in Baltimore for some time, including at St Francis Xavier Parish beginning in 1982.[1]
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
[edit]On December 23, 1986, Pope John Paul II named Fisher as titular bishop of Tlos and as an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. He was consecrated on February 23, 1987. He was the first African-American Catholic bishop west of Texas.
Retirement and legacy
[edit]Fisher retired as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles on January 24, 1984. He died on September 2, 1993, in Los Angeles of colon cancer at age 47.[3]
The Archdiocese of Baltimore in December 2002 received an allegation from a man who claimed that Fisher had sexually abused him as a child between 1976 and 1978 at St. Veronica Church in Baltimore. The archdiocese reported the accusations in 2003 and paid a settlement of $80,000 to the victim.[4]In August 2019, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced that Fisher was the subject of multiple abuse allegations, all of which were received after his death.[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c "Bishop Carl Fisher, 48; Broke a Racial Barrier (Published 1993)". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1993-09-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- ^ "Bishop Carl Anthony Fisher [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ^ Carl Anthony Fisher
- ^ "ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REPORT ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE" (PDF). Office of the Attorney General Maryland. April 2023. p. 149. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
- ^ "Baltimore Archdiocese adds name of deceased LA auxiliary to accused clergy list | Angelus News". 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
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- 1945 births
- 1993 deaths
- People from Pascagoula, Mississippi
- Catholics from Mississippi
- African-American Roman Catholic bishops
- 20th-century American Roman Catholic bishops
- Josephite bishops
- Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II
- 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops
- Epiphany Apostolic College
- St. Joseph's Seminary (Washington, DC)
- African-American members of Catholic religious communities
- American Roman Catholic bishop stubs