Michael Louis Fitzgerald (born 17 August 1937) is a British

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

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 ...

and an expert on Christian–Muslim relations. He has had the rank of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

since 2002. At his retirement in 2012, he was the

Apostolic Nunciature to Egypt The Apostolic Nunciature to Egypt is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Egypt. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. The Apostolic Nuncio to Eg ...

and delegate to the Arab League. He headed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue from 2002 to 2006. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of

on 5 October 2019. Fitzgerald is an expert on

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, Christian–Muslim relations and interreligious dialogue within the senior hierarchy of the Catholic Church. His publications include ''Dieu rêve d'unité. Les catholiques et les religions: les leçons du dialogue. Entretiens avec Annie Laurent'' (Paris, Bayard Presse, 2005) and (with John Borelli) ''Interfaith Dialogue. A Catholic View'', (SPCK, London & Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, 2006), both translated into Italian. He is fluent in Arabic.

Early life and education

Michael L. Fitzgerald was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, United Kingdom, on 17 August 1937, into a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family of Irish descent, and attended Queen Mary's Grammar School. Desiring from an early age to become a priest and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

, he joined the junior seminary of the Missionaries of Africa (

White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...

) at the age of twelve, first in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, then in the

South of England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

. He studied philosophy for two years, the first in England and the second in Ireland. He made his novitiate in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

from 1956 to 1957 and pursued his theological studies from 1957 to 1961 in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, where he began learning

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and acquiring some knowledge of Islam. Cardinal William Godfrey,

Archbishop of Westminster The archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

, ordained him a priest of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (

) on 3 February 1961. Upon

ordination 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 ...

in 1961 he was sent to Rome to study

Dogmatic Theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. Among his teachers was the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

theologian

Bernard Lonergan Bernard Joseph Francis Lonergan (17 December 1904 – 26 November 1984) was a Canadians, Canadian Jesuit priest, philosophy, philosopher, and theology, theologian, regarded by many as one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. Lone ...

. This was the time of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(1962–1965) which provided the opportunity of attending lectures by theologians including

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuits, Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Catholic theology, Cat ...

and Yves Congar. He completed his doctorate in Theology in 1965 on the missionary intention in the writings of the Latin apologists.

Scholar, teacher, and pastor

In 1965 he started a BA in Arabic at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, graduating in 1968, whereupon he became a lecturer at the Institut Pontifical d'Études Arabes (later renamed the

Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies The Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (, ; PISAI) is a Catholic Church, Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome focused on Arabic and Islamic culture, history and language. As of 2006, there have been over 1,300 ...

(PISAI)). After one year lecturing at the PISAI, he was appointed lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

, Kampala,

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, where he taught courses on Islam to Muslim as well as to Christian students. In 1971 he returned to Rome to pursue his teaching and scholarly interests at the PISAI. From 1972 to 1978 he was Director of the PISAI. During this period Fitzgerald was involved in the creation of ''Encounter, Documents for Christian-Muslim Understanding'', a periodical publication on Islam, and supervised the launch of ''Islamochristiana'', a scholarly journal specialised in Christian-Muslim relations and interreligious dialogue. In 1972 he became consultor of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, then known as Secretariat for Non-Christians. In 1978 he returned to Africa to carry out parish work in the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, in the town of New Halfa (Archdiocese of Khartoum). His duties included ministering to the Christian population while also cooperating with the Muslim community. In 1980 he was elected to the General Council of the Missionaries of Africa in Rome, where he spent six years managing and organising.

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

In 1987 he was appointed Secretary of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which was renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) in 1988. In that capacity, Fitzgerald helped draft '' Dialogue and Proclamation'', one of the Roman Catholic Church's documents concerning the relationship between dialogue and evangelisation. On 16 December 1991, Fitzgerald was appointed titular bishop of Nepte. He was consecrated at Saint Peter's Basilica by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 6 January 1992. On 1 October 2002, Pope John Paul named him to succeed Cardinal Francis Arinze as President of the PCID and gave him the rank of archbishop as well. This made him the highest-ranking British citizen in the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

Diplomatic career

On 15 February 2006,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt and Delegate to the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

, his first diplomatic posting. He was one of the few nuncios not to have attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. According to the BBC, "The decision by the German-born pontiff has caused a stir. Vatican watchers are trying to work out whether the move is a demotion or recognition of the special talents of the archbishop." Fitzgerald said: "My background in Arabic and Islamic studies is probably considered useful at this moment for the development of relations with Egypt and the rest of the Islamic world." One Vatican correspondent said that the decision to send "the smartest guy in the Vatican on relations with Muslims" overseas was "the Pope's worst decision so far" and the press noted Fitzgerald's absence when Pope Benedict offended Muslims with his

Regensburg lecture The Regensburg lecture or Regensburg address was delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany, which sparked international reactions and controversy. The lecture entitled "Faith and rationality#Vi ...

in September 2006. Fitzgerald's transfer proved to be part of Benedict's restructuring of curial departments to reorient interreligious discussions with non-Christians by uniting the role of president of the PCID with that of the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May 1982 and in 1993 he merged the Po ...

, a restructuring that Benedict initiated in March 2006 and reversed in June 2007. He resigned from his diplomatic positions in October 2012.

Later career

In retirement, he remained at the Missionaries of Africa in Jerusalem until early 2019, when he returned to England to work in a Liverpool parish. On 1 September 2019, Pope Francis announced he would make him a

. On 5 October 2019, Pope Francis made him

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of Santa Maria in Portico.

Views on interreligious dialogue

According to Fitzgerald, the impetus for interreligious dialogue in the Catholic Church stems from the Second Vatican Council, in particular the declaration ''

Nostra aetate (from Latin: "In our time"), or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, is an official declaration of the Second Vatican Council, an Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. I ...

'' ('In our Time') on relations with other religions, especially Judaism but also Islam. In conveying for the first time a positive assessment of other religious traditions, the declaration emphasises dialogue between people rather than systems. Fitzgerald further argues that the aim of interreligious dialogue is not to produce a new world religion or to achieve some sort of theological unity between all religions. In this, it differs radically from ecumenical dialogue conducted with the various Christian churches with a view to a unity of worship grounded on a unity of faith. Indeed, theological dialogue with followers of other religions, the 'dialogue of discourse', is especially difficult due to the divergence of beliefs, and requires participants with a thorough theological education, but such dialogue can serve to eliminate false problems. Other forms of dialogue are important, such as the dialogue of life, the dialogue of action and the dialogue of religious experience. Fitzgerald was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to interfaith and interchurch partnerships.

Works

*(with R. Dionne) ''Catalysts'', The White Fathers of Africa, Dublin, 1980, revised edition 1998. *(with R. Caspar) ''Signs of Dialogue. Christian Encounter with Muslims'', Silsilah Publications, Zamboanga City, 1992. *''Dieu rêve d'unité. Les catholiques et les religions: les leçons du dialogue. Entretiens avec Annie Laurent'', Paris, Bayard Presse, 2005. *(with John Borelli) ''Interfaith Dialogue. A Catholic View'', SPCK, London & Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Michael L. Living people 1937 births People from Walsall Clergy from the West Midlands (county) 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century British cardinals White Fathers priests 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic nuncios to Egypt Apostolic nuncios to the Arab League Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue People educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Alumni of SOAS University of London Cardinals created by Pope Francis Officers of the Order of the British Empire English people of Irish descent