Father Tom Fitzgerald — a priest known for his sense of humor and his welcoming ways — died Dec. 29 at the age of 84, with his ministry spanning 46 years in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Father Fitzgerald, who was ordained an archdiocesan priest in March 1966, had most recently served as pastor of St. Genevieve in Centerville from 1999 to 2012 before retiring in 2012. In his retirement, he continued to participate in parish events at St. Genevieve while also assisting at area churches such as St. Gregory the Great in North Branch, Sacred Heart in Rush City and St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake.
His death prompted many reflections that were shared on a special page of St. Genevieve’s website.
“I appreciated his sense of humor and his ability to make you feel at ease no matter what the situation,” one person shared. Another mentioned meeting Father Fitzgerald through the home visits he did for new parishioners at St. Genevieve: “I will never forget how welcoming he made me feel and his open-mindedness.” She added, “Mass didn’t always start on time because he was looking in the parking lot for late arrivals, sometimes me, and welcoming everyone.”
“He was so inclusive of all people, he was welcoming to all people, he was very non-judgmental, and he just had a welcoming personality,” said Father Mike Arms, a retired archdiocesan priest whose friendship with Father Fitzgerald spanned 56 years and who will be the homilist at Father Fitzgerald’s funeral Mass.
Father Arms, 82, who most recently served as pastor of St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights, described Father Fitzgerald as “a wonderful priest and most of all, he was especially a great pastor.”
Father Arms said his friendship with Father Fitzgerald grew when they were both assigned to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul in the late 1960s. Father Fitzgerald served as assistant pastor there from 1966 to 1973. “We really hit it off with each other, we both loved sports and obviously we were on fire with being young priests and sharing ministry,” Father Arms said of the early days of their friendship.
In addition to sharing their love of ministry, Father Arms said “some of what bonded us together” included duck and goose hunting, fishing, and attending Minnesota Vikings games.
“It was a good friendship over 56 years, a lot of great, great memories,” Father Arms said. “I’m so blessed with that.”
Father Arms said he and Father Fitzgerald agreed that they would be each other’s funeral Mass homilist. When Father Arms asked Father Fitzgerald what he would want Father Arms to say, should he be the one to give Father Fitzgerald’s funeral Mass homily, Father Fitzgerald told Father Arms to tell those gathered two things: that he “was a good guy and secondly, that he loved Jesus,” Father Arms said. “‘And then,’ he said, ‘I want you to shut up and sit down,’” Father Arms laughed. “He had a great sense of humor.”
Alongside Father Fitzgerald’s tendency to crack jokes was his interest in storytelling, said Father Arms — this interest led him to attend storytelling workshops around the world. “I went on three of them, but he went on about six or seven workshops to different countries,” Father Arms said.
“He was especially good at telling stories,” Father Arms said. “He preached by telling stories.”
In addition to his tenure at St. Genevieve, Father Fitzgerald served as pastor (1987-1999) then as parochial administrator (1999) at St. Rita in Cottage Grove.
Encouraging parishioners to reflect on “what does it mean to be Church?” was part of Father Fitzgerald’s legacy at St. Rita, said the late Sister Pauline Fritz of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
“Dear to his heart has been the conviction that the people of God coming together in small Christian communities, to read, pray and share how the word of God has and is affecting their lives on a day-to-day basis; how it calls them to be for one another in celebration and sorrow; how it offers courage, hope and a way of life in the beatitudes,” Sister Pauline, who died in 2013, told The Catholic Spirit in 1999. “Many of our lives are forever changed because Father Fitz held up for all the importance of the lived Word as the best expression of what it is to be Church.”
Prior to his ministry at St. Rita, Father Fitzgerald was an associate pastor (1973-1977), a parochial administrator (1977), then the pastor (1977-1987) of St. Michael in Stillwater.
“His parishes that he was at, they all loved him,” Father Arms said. “He also loved to be with people.”
A visitation for Father Fitzgerald is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 13 at St. Genevieve, prior to the funeral Mass, set for 10 a.m. Archbishop Bernard Hebda will be the principal celebrant and Father Greg Esty will concelebrate the funeral Mass. A luncheon in St. Genevieve’s Parish Community Center will follow Mass. Interment will take place at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, following the luncheon.
