BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bishop Michael Fisher has returned from a weeklong visit to the Vatican , where he met with Pope Leo XIV and several high-ranking Vatican officials to discuss the Diocese of Buffalo’s ongoing bankruptcy and its sweeping plan to restructure local parishes.

Fisher said his conversations in Rome centered on two issues dominating the diocese’s future — its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and the “Road to Renewal” initiative, which is leading to the closure or merger of roughly half of the parishes across Western New York.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 in response to hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits, a process aimed at compensating survivors while allowing parish ministries to continue operating. Fisher said his message to the pope focused on finding a path for

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