John Edmund Fitzmaurice (January 8, 1839 – June 18, 1920) 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 ...

who served as the fourth

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 Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania (1899–1920).

Biography

Early life

John Fitzmaurice was born on January 8, 1839, in Newtown-Sandes,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

in Ireland. He began studying law at age fifteen. In 1858, he immigrated to the United States, where he began his studies for the priesthood at

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fitzmaurice 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 ...

to the priesthood by Bishop James Wood on December 21, 1862, and then served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. John's and St. Paul's Parishes in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. After 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 ...

of St. Agatha's Parish in Philadelphia, he became rector of St. Charles Seminary in 1886. His nephew,

Edmond John Fitzmaurice Edmond John Fitzmaurice (June 24, 1881 – July 26, 1962) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware from 1925 to 1960. Biography Early life and education Edm ...

, was also rector of St. Charles (1920–1925) as well as Bishop of Wilmington (1925–1960).

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Erie

On December 14, 1897, Fitzmaurice was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Erie and

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 Amisus by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration 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 ...

on February 24, 1898 from Archbishop Patrick Ryan, with Bishops Ignatius Horstmann and Edmond Prendergast 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, ...

. He succeeded

Tobias Mullen Tobias Mullen (March 4, 1818 – April 22, 1900) was an Ireland, Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania from 1868 to until his death in 1899 ...

as Bishop on September 15, 1899. During his 21-year-long tenure as bishop, Fitzmaurice established several parishes and dedicated St. Peter's Cathedral in Erie (1911). The Sisters of St. Joseph added an annex to St. Vincent's Hospital in Erie and in 1901 a nursing school. Toward the end of his life, Fitzmaurice went blind; John Fitzmaurice died June 18, 1920 at age 81 in Erie, Pennsylvania."Bishops of the Diocese of Erie", Saint Peter Cathedral
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References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzmaurice, John Edmund 1839 births 1920 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni People from County Kerry Roman Catholic bishops of Erie 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States