On Jan. 25, Bishops Gerard W. Battersby and Robert J. Fisher were ordained the 29th and 30th auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Detroit at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Gerard William Battersby

The youngest of nine children along with his twin brother, Gerard W. Battersby was born May 15, 1960, to the late Christopher and the late Helen (Buckley) Battersby, both immigrants to Detroit from Canada. He grew up in northwest Detroit and attended St. Benedict Parish and school in Highland Park. He attended college at Wayne State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1983. Following graduation, he worked briefly in the pharmaceutical industry and subsequently became a designated senior residential appraiser, and worked in the appraisal field for a decade following college. In 1993, he entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary as an adult vocation, and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1998, being ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Adam J. Maida.

After ordination, he served in parish ministry for approximately 10 years, being sent as an associate pastor to St. Thecla and St. Claude parishes in Clinton Township, and later as associate pastor of Presentation/Our Lady of Victory, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Gerard parishes in northwest Detroit. During that time, he also served as vicar of the Northwest Vicariate.

In 2002, he was named pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Detroit, and in 2007, was appointed to Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where he received a License in the New Evangelization in 2008. While serving as director of graduate seminarians and graduate pastoral formation at the seminary, Bishop Battersby also served concurrently as administrator of St. Leo Parish in Detroit, and as theology house director.
In 2009, he was assigned to graduate studies in Rome at the University of St. Thomas, where he is currently awaiting the completion of a terminal graduate degree in spirituality. In 2011, he returned to Sacred Heart Major Seminary as vice-rector and dean of seminarian formation.

In October 2015, he was asked to become pastor of Detroit’s St. Mary of Redford Parish in addition to his duties at the seminary.
Bishop Battersby will serve as regional moderator of the archdiocese’s South Region, and will continue to serve at St. Mary of Redford Parish until further arrangement is made.

Bishop Robert Joseph Fisher

The oldest of the four children of Robert and Trudy (Torzewski) Fisher, Robert Joseph Fisher was born Sept. 24, 1959, and attended Epiphany and St. Bede Elementary schools before graduating from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1977. He went on to the University of Detroit, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in management science. During his summers, he worked for the Catholic Youth Organization at their summer camps near Port Sanilac. After graduating, he worked full time for the CYO overseeing the camping services department. While working for the CYO, he began his discernment of the diocesan priesthood and entered formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the fall of 1986, earning a Master of Divinity degree.

After being ordained a priest by Cardinal Adam J. Maida in 1992, he was sent as associate pastor to Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Grosse Pointe Woods. In 1995, Cardinal Maida assigned him as the director of priestly vocations for the archdiocese. In 2000, he returned to parish ministry, serving as pastor of St. Angela Parish in Roseville (2000-03) and St. Lawrence Parish in Utica (2003-14). In March 2014, he was named to succeed the late Msgr. William Easton as pastor — and later rector — of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, which earned the distinction of being named a minor basilica in January 2015.

During his pastorates, Bishop Fisher has been a seminarian mentor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, and served on the Program Review Committee and the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council. Currently, he is a member of the archdiocesan Catholic Schools Council and the board of directors of the Catholic Youth Organization.

Bishop Fisher will serve as regional moderator for the archdiocese’s Northeast Region, and will continue to serve as pastor and rector of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica until July 1.

---

Related stories

For more stories about the ordination and background of the Archdiocese of Detroit's new auxiliary bishops, Bishop Robert Fisher and Bishop Gerard Battersby, check out The Michigan Catholic's special section.