Edward Mary Fitzgerald (October 28, 1833—February 21, 1907) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1867 until his death in 1907.
During the American Civil War, Fitzgerald organized an Irish-American military company called the Montgomery Guards that fought on the Union side. He frequently visited Camp Chase in Columbus to minister to Confederate Army prisoners.[5]
Bishop of Little Rock
On April 24, 1866, Fitzgerald was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock by Pope Pius IX.[4] Fitzgerald initially refused the appointment, but was commanded by the Holy See to accept it in December 1866.[6] He received his episcopal consecration on February 3, 1867, from Archbishop Purcell, with Bishops John Lynch and Sylvester Rosecrans serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Church.[4] At age 33, he was the youngest member of the American hierarchy.[6]
Fitzgerald presided over a period of great growth in the Little Rock Diocese. Arriving in Arkansas by steamboat in March 1867,[6] he found four parishes, five priests, and 1,600 Catholics; by the time of his death in 1907, there were 41 churches with resident priests, 32 missions, 60 priests, and 20,000 Catholics.[3] He first rebuilt the churches and missions ravaged by the Civil War.[6] From 1869 to 1870, he attended the First Vatican Council in Rome. At the Council, Fitzgerald was the only U.S. bishop to vote against papal infallibility.[7] While he believed in the theological grounds for infallibility, he feared that its dogmatic definition would hamper the conversion of non-Catholics in Arkansas.[6] However, he fully submitted to the Council's decision when the tally ended.[2]
Fitzgerald suffered a stroke in January 1900, and was subsequently paralyzed.[6] Pope Pius X appointed Father John Morris as his coadjutor bishop in June 1906.[8] Fitzgerald also suffered from depression, once writing, "I find in me a growing dislike in making exertions of any kind, a bad sign in me, no longer a young man...I am overwhelmed with despondency and gloom."[9]
Death and legacy
Edward Fitzgerald died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas,[6] on February 20, 1907, at age 73. He is buried in a crypt under St. Andrew's Cathedral.[2]