Edward Aloysius Fitzgerald (February 13, 1893 – March 30, 1972) was an American

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 Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counti ...

from 1946 to 1949, and as the fourth Bishop of Winona from 1949 to 1969.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Edward Fitzgerald was born in Cresco,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, to Edward and Emma (née Daly) Fitzgerald. He was educated at Assumption High School in Cresco before he graduated from St. Joseph College in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

in 1913. Fitgerald studied for the priesthood at the Grand Seminary of Montreal in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

where he earned

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

and a Bachelor of

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. 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 ...

for the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Archbishop James Keane on July 25, 1916. He took post-graduate studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. Fitzgerald served on the faculty of Loras College for 25 years where he also served as the

registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the sen ...

and Dean of Studies. In 1938 he received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

in recognition for his work in organizing Catholic colleges. During his time at Loras, Fitgerald filled a number of chaplaincies in the Dubuque area. He became a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at Sacred Heart in

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

in 1941 and at

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

in Elkader in 1946.

Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque

On August 3, 1946,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed Fitzgerald

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 ...

of ''Cantanus'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque. He was consecrated on September 12, 1946, by Archbishop

Henry Rohlman Henry Patrick Rohlman (March 17, 1876 – September 13, 1957) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1927 to 1944 and as coadjutor archbishop and archbishop of the Archdi ...

in St. Raphael's Cathedral. Bishop Louis Kucera of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

and

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

Leo Binz Leo Binz (October 31, 1900 – October 9, 1979) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dubuque (1954–1961) and as Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1962–1975). A native of Illinois, he became a ...

of Winona served as the co-consecrators. The sermon was delivered by Archbishop Edward Howard of Portland in Oregon, who was himself a native of Cresco. Fitzgerald was the first auxiliary bishop of the Dubuque archdiocese.

Bishop of Winona

On October 20, 1949, Pope Pius XII appointed Fitzgerald bishop of the Winona diocese. He became known as "the building bishop" for his oversight of the construction of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a seminary, and several churches in the diocese. He attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

between 1962 and 1965, and subsequently implemented the Council's reforms in the diocese, including introducing

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

into the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

Later life and death

Fizgerald retired on January 8, 1969. He was succeeded by Bishop Loras Watters, another auxiliary bishop from Dubuque. On March 30, 1972, Fitzgerald died in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart during the Holy Thursday liturgy. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Winona.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Edward Aloysius 1893 births 1972 deaths Loras College alumni People from Cresco, Iowa Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Roman Catholic bishops of Winona Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Loras College faculty