John Edmund Fitzmaurice (January 8, 1839 – June 18, 1920) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as the fourth

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy 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 and administration of di ...

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 () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

in Ireland. He began studying

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at age fifteen. In 1858, he immigrated to the United States, where he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fitzmaurice was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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'' () 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 who are as ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. After serving as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Agatha's Parish in Philadelphia, he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

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 Ed ...

, 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 (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. 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 States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

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 Churche ...

. He succeeded

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

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 St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni Christian clergy from County Kerry Roman Catholic bishops of Erie 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States