John Joseph Fitzpatrick (October 12, 1918 – July 15, 2006) was a Canadian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 1968 to 1971 and as the third

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 ...

of the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas from 1971 to 1991. Fitzpatrick was described as a strong advocate for the poor and for refugees.

Biography

Early life

John Fitzpatrick was born in

Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large unincorporated community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues n ...

, Canada on October 12, 1918. When he was age five, his family moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. He attended Catholic schools throughout high school. He went to Rome to study for the priesthood, but was forced to return to the United States due to its entry into World War II.After the war, Fitzpatrick returned to Rome to complete his studies.

Priesthood

Fitzpatrick was ordained a priest by Bishop John Aloysius Duffy for the

Diocese of Buffalo The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo inc ...

on December 13, 1942 when he was 24 years old. After his ordination, he went to Florida to serve as a military chaplain. He was incardinated, or transferred, in 1948 to the Diocese of St Augustine in Florida, then in 1958 was incardinated again, this time to the Archdiocese of Miami.

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

Fitzpatrick was appointed 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 ...

as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami 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 a ...

of Cenae on June 24, 1968. On August 28, 1968, he was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll; his co-consecrators were Bishop Joseph Durick and Archbishop Joseph Bernardin.

Bishop of Brownsville

On April 27, 1971, Fitzpatrick was appointed by Paul VI as the third bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. He was installed on May 27, 1971. In 1982, Fitzpatrick opened Casa Oscar Romero in Brownsville, named after the murdered Salvadorian archbishop,

Oscar Arnulfo Romero Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

. It served as a shelter for refugees coming across the Mexican border into the United States. He eventually closed the shelter after repeated complaints from federal judges that he was violating US immigration law. Fitzpatrick set up a different shelter and even opened his own garage to refugees. As bishop, he set up an extensive program to train lay people to assume roles within the diocese. He also established diocese radio and TV stations.

Retirement and legacy

On November 30, 1991, Pope John Paul II accepted Fitzpatrick's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. After the death of his replacement, Bishop Enrique San Pedro, in 1994, Fitzpatrick served as apostolic administrator for nearly a year until the appointment of Bishop Raymundo Peña in 1995. In May 1994, Fitzpatrick testified in court on behalf of Stacey Lynn Merkt, a Catholic lay worker accused of illegally bringing two Salvadoran refugees into the United States. He said that aiding refugees was in accordance with the laws of man and of God John Fitzpatrick died in Brownsville on July 15, 2006 at age 87.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

Tyler Morning Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, John Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston–Houston 1918 births 2006 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Religious leaders from Texas Religious leaders from Florida 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States