Michael J. Fitzgerald (bishop)

Michael Fitzgerald was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the second of nine children of Edwin and Dorothy (née Bogart) Fitzgerald.[2] He and his family moved to Pennsylvania when he was a young boy, first to Southwest Philadelphia and then to King of Prussia.[3] He received his early education at the parochial schools of St. Clement Church in Philadelphia and St. Augustine Church in Bridgeport.[1] He attended Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown from 1962 to 1966.[1]

He graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1970, and earned a Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law in 1973.[4] He served as a judicial clerk in the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County from 1973 to 1975, and then worked in private practice.[2] After feeling called to the priesthood, he consulted his pastor and then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook in 1975.[2] He earned a Master of Divinity degree from St. Charles in 1980.[4]

On May 17, 1980, Fitzgerald was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Cardinal John Krol.[5] His first assignment was as a parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Roxborough, where he remained for one year.[4] He then served at St. Callistus Church in Philadelphia from 1981 to 1982.[1] He was the defender of the bond (1982-1983) and a judge (1983-1987) on the Metropolitan Tribunal.[1] During his tenure on the tribunal, he lived at Immaculate Conception Parish in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.[4]

Fitzgerald then furthered his studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1989.[2] In 1991, he received a Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.[2] Following his return to Philadelphia, he served as the first director of the Archdiocesan Office for Legal Services from 1991 to 2004.[3] During his tenure as director, he lived at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and afterwards at Annunciation B.V.M. Church, both in South Philadelphia.[3] He was named a Chaplain of His Holiness on March 24, 2003.[1]

From 2004 to 2007, Fitzgerald was vice-rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.[4] As vice-rector, he also served as chairman of the Admissions Committee.[3] He became judicial vicar of the archdiocese in 2007, holding that office until 2010.[1] During his three-year tenure, he lived at St. Patrick's Church in Philadelphia.[4] He also served as a member of the College of Consultors, Priests Personnel Board, and Priests' Counsel, and a chaplain to the Serra Club of Philadelphia and to the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters.[4]

On June 22, 2010, Fitzgerald was appointed auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia and titular bishop of Tamallula by Pope Benedict XVI.[5] He received his episcopal consecration on August 6, 2010 from Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.[5] in a joint consecration with John J. McIntyre, also made an auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia at the same time.[6]