The Reverend John Fitzsimmons (2 December 1939, in Paisley – 17 May 2008, in

Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...

) was a Scottish

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

and

radio presenter A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

who presented ''The Greetings''

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

for many years. John Fitzsimmons was born in Paisley,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, in 1939. He was ordained priest of the

Diocese of Paisley The Diocese of Paisley () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the diocese covers the historic county of Renfrewshire (now the l ...

in Rome in 1963. During his studies he earned degrees in philosophy (Ph.L), sacred theology (STL) and sacred scripture (LSS). Involved in broadcasting for more than 40 years, he had also served as the rector of the Pontifical Scots College in Rome. In addition to his work at

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

, Fitzsimmons was known for his sometimes controversial criticisms of the Catholic Church hierarchy.Father John Fitzsimmons’s online confession
Stephen McGinty, The Scotsman, 15 July 2012 After a long illness, John Fitzsimmons died in his sixty ninth year on 17 May 2008, in Gourock. Maggie Cunningham, the director of programmes for

, said of Fitzsimmons, "He was a big man with a big personality, erudite and compassionate, and anybody who met or worked with Father John would benefit from his life-enhancing qualities."

References

External links

Father John Fitzsimmons
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The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

''
Father John Fitzsimmons, Outspoken and scholarly Scottish priest popular with his parishioners but often at loggerheads with his superiors
obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

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Obituary
'' The Herald'', 2008
Fr John Fitzsimmons: An Appreciation
''The Herald'', 2008 1939 births 2008 deaths BBC Scotland newsreaders and journalists 20th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests Scottish radio presenters Journalists from Paisley, Renfrewshire Broadcasters from Paisley, Renfrewshire {{RC-clergy-stub