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May 11th, 2017 Fr. Fischer will serve as rector. Rector is a canonical title that is
used in the Church to indicate a position of significant authority.
Seminaries, cathedral parishes, shrines, and other significant
institutions in the Church are led by rectors. Fr. Fischer, a 1969 graduate of Saint Joseph’s College, is a former
moderator general of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the
religious sponsors of the College. The moderator general provides
leadership for all the Missionaries serving in over 20 countries around
the globe. In his 12 years as moderator general, Fr. Fischer routinely
worked with many groups and across many cultures around the world. Most
recently, he served as Director of the Precious Blood Spirituality
Center in Salzburg, Austria. Fr. Fischer will assume his new duties on May 13, 2017. He has been
in residence on campus since early May. Other members of the transition
team will be announced as appointments are made. Fr. Fischer is committed to helping navigate our way through the
transition to bring forth a re- engineered Saint Joseph’s. “I am very
appreciative that Fr. Fischer has agreed to help with the transition and
I think he’ll be a real asset,” said Fr. Larry Hemmelgarn, C.PP.S.,
Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of
the Precious Blood. “He has vast experience at bringing people together
to work for a common goal. Chairman of the Board Benedict Sponseller and
I have no doubt that Fr. Fischer can be a healing presence who unites us
and helps us stay true to our mission as we move forward,” Fr.
Hemmelgarn said. “Fr. Fischer will lead the way as we work through this
transition.” In previous assignments, Fr. Fischer has been able to bring people
together, and then bring them along on new initiatives. One of his
successes was in working with another religious institution that was
mired in seemingly intractable problems. He served as its superior
general for four years, with full authority over its financial,
administrative and spiritual operations. Fr. Fischer was able to work
with its members to help them see a path to a new, more promising
future. An excellent communicator, he is also an author who has led retreats
and presented at conferences around the world. He has served in school
administration and as a director of seminarians. During his 2016
commencement address at SJC, he told the graduates, “You won't all
become rich nor will you necessarily venture into foreign countries, but
each and every one of you can make a difference in the lives of someone
else. And that is where you must begin.”
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