Carl Anthony Fisher,
SSJ (November 24, 1945 – September 2, 1993) was an African-American
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
prelate who served as an
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles from 1987 until his death in 1993. He was the first (and as of 2022, the only)
Black Catholic bishop on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
.
He was a member of the
Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart
The Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart ( la, Societas Sodalium Sancti Joseph a Sacra Corde) abbreviated SSJ, also known as the Josephites is a society of apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men
( priests and brothers) headquartered ...
, a religious community that serves African Americans. He was the third Josephite to be made a bishop, and as of 2022, the latest.
Biography
Born in
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...
, Fisher attended
Epiphany Apostolic College
Epiphany Apostolic College, formerly known as the Josephite Collegiate Seminary, was a Catholic Church, Catholic minor seminary founded in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland in 1889 by John R. Slattery for the Mill Hill Missionaries, a United Kingdom, ...
as well as
St. Joseph's Seminary, and was ordained to the priesthood for the
Society of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart on June 2, 1973. He then served in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
for some time, including at
Historic St Francis Xavier Church beginning in 1982.
On December 23, 1986, he was appointed
titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Tlos
Tlos ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊍𐊀𐊇𐊀 ''Tlawa'', Hittite: 𒁕𒆷𒉿 ''Dalawa'', grc, Τλώς or Τλῶς) was an ancient Lycian city near the modern town of Seydikemer in the Mugla Province of southern Turkey, some 4 kilometres northwest o ...
and
auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...
and was consecrated on February 23, 1987. He was the first
African-American Catholic bishop west of Texas, and as of 2022 none have been named since.
He died of
colon cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
while in office, at the age of 47 in 1993.
Sex abuse allegations
In Augustin 2019, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced that Fisher was the subject of multiple abuse allegations, all of which were received after his death.
Notes
1945 births
1993 deaths
People from Pascagoula, Mississippi
Catholics from Mississippi
African-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 Catholic consecrated religious
{{US-RC-bishop-stub