George Kinzie Fitzsimons (September 4, 1928 – July 28, 2013) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman 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 Bishop of Salina from 1984 to 2004.

Biography

George Fitzsimons was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, to George K. and Margaret Mary (née Donavan) Fitzsimons, both native Kansans. He belonged t
St. Francis Xavier Church
as a child, and attended

Rockhurst High School Rockhurst High School is a private, Roman Catholic, Jesuit, all-boys, preparatory school founded in 1910 along with Rockhurst College, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It moved away from the College in 1962 to a campus on State Line Road ...

and

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

in Kansas City. Various lay ministries that were expanded and developed included Liturgists, Religious Education Coordinators, Youth ministers, Ministers to the elderly and Pastoral Assistants. In 1952–53, before joining the priesthood, Lt Fitzsimons served as a naval aviator with U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron

VP-49 VP-49 was a long-lived Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy, having held that designation for 45 years from 1948 to 1994. Its nickname was the ''Woodpeckers'' from 1973 to 1994. It was established as VP-19 on 1 February 1944, redesignated Patrol ...

. After serving in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

(1950–1954) and briefly in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

, he began his studies for the priesthood at Conception Seminary in Missouri. Fitzsimons 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 ...

a priest by Bishop

John Cody John Patrick Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of St. Louis, he served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964� ...

on March 18, 1961. He then served as an

associate 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 ...

, high school teacher, college chaplain,

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. On May 20, 1975, Fitzsimons was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Titular Bishop of ''Pertusa'' by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. He received his

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

on the following July 3 from Bishop

Charles Herman Helmsing Charles Herman Helmsing (March 23, 1908 – December 20, 1993) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph in Missouri (1962–1977). Biography Early life Helmsing wa ...

, with Archbishop

William Wakefield Baum William Wakefield Baum (November 21, 1926 – July 23, 2015) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri (1970–1973) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Wa ...

and Bishop

Joseph Vincent Sullivan Joseph Vincent Sullivan (August 15, 1919—September 4, 1982) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana from 1974 until his death in 1982. He previously served as an auxili ...

serving as

co-consecrators 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, ...

, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. Fitzsimons was named the eighth Bishop of Salina,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, on March 28, 1984. He was serving as

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 ...

o
Christ the King Church
in Kansas City at the time of his appointment. He was installed by Archbishop Strecker at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Salina on the following May 29. During his tenure, he established an Office of

Lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

Ministry, with a director and an advisory Board, funded and initiated by the Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago, as well as a Rural Life Commission. He initiated the RENEW

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

spiritual growth program. Marymount College closed in 1989 because of financial difficulties. Due to a declining population and

priest shortage In the years since World War II there has been a substantial reduction in the number of priests ''per capita'' in the Catholic Church, a phenomenon considered by many to constitute a "shortage" in the number of priests. From 1980 to 2012, the ratio ...

, he was also forced to merge several parishes but did erec
St. Nicholas of Myra Church
in Hays an
St. Thomas More Church
in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Bishop Fitzsimons resigned as Bishop on October 21, 2004. Bishop Emeritus Fitzsimons then resided a
St. Patrick Parish
in Ogden. In 2008, his lower left leg was

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indivi ...

due to a severe

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

; he then used a

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

. He died at age 84 in Ogden on July 28, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimons, George Kinzie 1928 births 2013 deaths United States Navy officers United States Air Force officers Clergy from Kansas City, Missouri Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph Roman Catholic bishops of Salina Rockhurst University alumni American amputees 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Missouri Catholics from Missouri

Biography

See also

References