During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kakie Urch said she felt called to convert to Catholicism.
But she was nearing the middle of her life — not a traditional time to adopt a new religion. She worried the transition might be too hard.
She asked a friend, “Is there possibly a priest that could work with the likes of me?”
Her friend’s response was immediate: Father Norman Fischer.
Urch met Fischer for coffee in March 2021 and began the journey toward conversion. She was baptized at an Easter vigil the following year.
“He was exactly the priest I needed,” Urch said.
Stories like Urch’s echoed across Lexington this week as Catholics and community members mourned the surprise death of Fischer, 50.
The pastor at St. Peter Claver Church and chaplain at Lexington Catholic High School, Fischer was lauded for his bright smile and relentless energy. Those traits were especially evident during events and athletic competitions at Lexington Catholic.
“Whatever else he had going on in a day, no matter the sport, the game, the location, he was there,” said Dave Nurnberg, the school’s athletic director. “He was our loudest supporter (and) the most positive presence in the stands and around the teams and in practices.”
Devine Carama, director of One Lexington, which works to reduce gun violence in Lexington, said he met Fischer almost a decade ago and often spoke to Lexington Catholic students with him. Fischer was a source of inspiration for Carama and other activists.
“A lot of times we’re constantly pouring out, pouring out into others, but he was actually the person that we went to to get our cup filled,” Carama said.
Fischer was the first priest of African or Filipino heritage in the Diocese of Lexington, and he worked closely with marginalized communities in the city. He often offered mass in Spanish and Swahili.
“I just think he was a true representation of Christ,” Carama said. “He was a human first. To me, that was one of his greatest attributes. Because of that, he wasn’t afraid to speak out on issues that were dividing people or tearing them down.”
The Commonwealth of Kentucky Project , an art and storytelling project written by Beth Pride, with artwork by Kelly Brewer, featured Fischer in 2022.
During Fischer’s time speaking with Pride and Brewer, he also sang for them. Brewer said she would never forget the experience, and she posted a clip of the moment on Wednesday.
“It was a genuinely emotional and moving experience,” Brewer said. “Two hours of listening to this really beautiful man. We just felt so fortunate to have that time with him, and the whole project felt that way. It was really a gift.”
Local musician and activist DeBraun Thomas said his relationship with Fischer was brief, but the priest was dedicated to bringing people together and making spaces welcome for everyone.
Thomas is a member of the advisory board of the Lexington Black Prosperity Initiative, which awarded Fischer one of its three Grassroots Black Leadership Awards this year.
“He was so elated, so grateful to receive the award,” Thomas said. “I’m sure that people knew of his work, obviously, at St. Peter Claver and with Lexington Catholic High School, but he really was always working to uplift anybody who needed any help anywhere.”
He described Fischer as a connector, who would take you wherever you needed to go if he could not provide the help you needed.
“One of the things that he repeatedly said was part of the reason he came to Lexington, to St. Peter Claver, was because of its historically Black congregation, which there was not much of when he came and (he) returned during his tenure,” Thomas said. “That, to me, shows the power of community and the power of people and love.”
Carama, the director of One Lexington, said Fischer’s authenticity allowed him to make genuine connections with everyone he met.
“You could see them becoming more comfortable with who they were because he was unapologetically comfortable being himself,” he said.
Lexington Catholic held a mass in memory of Fischer Thursday night at the school’s Bueter Gym.
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