Edmund Joseph Fitzgibbon (15 March 1925 – 17 April 2010) was the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Catholic Diocese of Warri in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Early life and education

Edmund Fitzgibbon was born in Ballylegan,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 9 April 1950, for the

St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

. On 25 November 1964, Fitzgibbon was appointed as the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Minna, Nigeria. Bishop Edmund J. Fitzgibbon 1925–2010 opened Fatima Secondary School in January 1965 to cater for the education of girls and boys in the Minna area. It was also the first secondary in Minna town and the first secondary school to provide education for girls in Niger State. He also opened Maryamu Secondary School Bida 1966 Zuru Secondary School (now Kebbi State) 1966: Kontagora Technical College 1967. All these Schools including St. Malachy's Teachers College became Government Secondary in January 1973. Fitzgibbon was also very much involved with youth. He trained the Calabar team that won the Governors’ cup in 1954. A street in Calabar is now named after Bishop Fitzgibbon. The Young Catholic Students movement came into Nigeria in 1959, It was Miss Freda O' Mahoney (now Mrs. Ogunade), with the help and support of the most Rev Dr Edmund Fitzgibbon (SMA), Bishop Emeritus of Warri, who introduced it in Nigeria. By 1965 it had become a national movement. From Nigeria, it spread to other English Speaking West African countries. All this while it was still known as Young Christian Students, until 1982 when the Bishop's Conference Of Nigeria (C.B.C.N) decided to change it to Young Catholic Students (Y.C.S).

Episcopal appointments

On 20 November 1975, he was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

for Forum Traiani (Titular See) and

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

for what is now the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and for what later became the Diocese of Warri He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

as a bishop on 12 July of the same year. The

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was Cardinal

Agnelo Rossi Agnelo Rossi (4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Brazilian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Biography Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joaquim Egidio, Brazil, in the Dio ...

; his principal co-consecrators were Cardinal

Bernardin Gantin Bernardin Gantin (8 May 1922 – 13 May 2008) was a Beninese prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for twenty years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for nine years. His prominence in the ...

, and Bishop James Moynagh. In 1983, Fitzgibbon appointed Father Joseph Brookman-Amissah as the part-time chaplain of the Chapel of the Annunciation at the

University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...

at its temporary location. Fitzgibbon made his first pastoral visit to the university 3 June 1984. On 17 July 1988 and his second visit, he requested a permanent location for the chapel. On 31 August 1991, Fitzgibbon was appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Warri. He retired in 2005. Dr. Fitzgibbon died on 17 April 2010 and is buried in the graveyard in the headquarters of St. Patrick's Missionary Fathers, Kiltegan, Ireland.

References

External links

Edmund Joseph Fitzgibbon on ''catholic-hierarchy.org''
1925 births 2010 deaths Christian clergy from County Cork 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nigeria Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Warri Roman Catholic bishops of Minna Irish expatriates in Nigeria {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub

Early life and education

Episcopal appointments

See also

References

External links