George Avis Fulcher

George Avis Fulcher (January 30, 1922 – January 25, 1984) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana from 1983 until his death in 1984.[1] He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Columbus from 1976 to 1983.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

George Avis Fulcher
Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana
Titular Bishop of Morosbisdus
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeDiocese of Lafayette in Indiana
PredecessorRaymond Joseph Gallagher
SuccessorWilliam Leo Higi
Other post(s)Auxiliary Bishop of Columbus
1976 to 1983
Titular Bishop of Morosbisdus
Orders
OrdinationFebruary 28, 1948
by Michael Joseph Ready
ConsecrationJuly 18, 1976
by Edward John Herrmann
Personal details
BornJanuary 30, 1922
Columbus, Ohio, US
DiedJanuary 25, 1984(1984-01-25) (aged 61)
Rockville, Indiana, US
Styles of
George Avis Fulcher
Reference styleReverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop
Posthumous stylenone

Biography

George Fulcher was born in Columbus, Ohio, on January 30, 1922, to George and Mary (Lennon) Fulcher. He was baptized at Saint Patrick Church and briefly attended primary school there, before his family moved to the Hilltop and began attending St. Aloysius. He graduated from Saint Charles Preparatory School in 1940 and entered seminary studies at the Athenaeum of Ohio in 1944.[1]He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Columbus by Bishop Michael Ready on February 28, 1948. In addition to parish pastoral work, he served as the editor-in-chief of the diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Times, from 1958 to 1963.[2][3]

Auxiliary Bishop of Columbus

Fulcher was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Columbus and Titular Bishop of Morosbisdus by Pope Paul VI on May 24, 1976. Fulcher was consecrated by Bishop Edward John Herrmann on July 18, 1976.[1] He served as the rector of St. Joseph Cathedral from 1975 to 1983, and also served on the NCCB committee that drafted the Pastoral Letter on Peace.[4]

Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana

On February 8, 1983, Fulcher was appointed by Pope John Paul II as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. He was later appointed to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops committee for the implementation of the Pastoral Letter on Peace.

While returning a conference he had given to religious superiors in Terre Haute, on January 25, 1984, George Fulcher was killed when his car crashed off US-41 near Rockville, Indiana.[5] He was 62 years old at the time of his death.

References
  1. "Bishop George Avis Fulcher". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. "Catholic News Service - Newsfeeds 1 April 1963 — The Catholic News Archive". thecatholicnewsarchive.org. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  3. Schlegel, Donald (November 1998). "The Bishops of Columbus: Most Rev. George Avis Fulcher, S.T.D." (PDF). The Bulletin of the Catholic Record Society of Columbus. XXIII (11): 183–185.
  4. Prosen, Anthony Joseph (2006). A History of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. Éditions du Signe.
  5. "Bp. Fulcher Dies in Crash". The St. Louis Review. 3 February 1988. p. 2.

Episcopal succession
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