Robert H. Fitzgerald (Father)

Bob had the soul and sensibilities of a poet. He loved to tell stories and to hear the stories of others, especially stories connected to families.

Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr.  Robert (Bob) H. Fitzgerald, SJ, who died on March 17, 2016, at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wis. He was 80 years old, a Jesuit for 62 years, and a priest for 49 years.

Born in Omaha on June 9, 1935, Bob attended St. Margaret Mary School and Creighton Prep. Together with his twin brother, Jim, Bob entered the Society at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Mo., on August 17, 1953. He had the usual Jesuit course of studies at St. Stanislaus and Saint Louis University and did his regency at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee from 1960 to 1963. Bob then did two years of theological studies at Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland, and two years of theological studies at St. Mary’s Academy & College in Kansas. He was ordained a priest on June 9, 1966, and did his tertianship in 1967 and 1968. Bob completed a Licentiate of Sacred Theology program at Saint Louis University in 1968 and pronounced final vows on August 15, 1973.

After his ordination, Bob taught high school English for nine years – at Creighton Prep in Omaha, Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis., and Holy Angels Academy in Minneapolis. From 1980 to 1986, he ministered as an alcohol and drug counselor at St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. From 1986 to 1998, he lived and ministered in the Twin Cities as a writer, a counselor, and a chaplain. After three years as a retreat director at the Holy Spirit Center for retreats in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2002, Bob moved to Omaha to serve as a chaplain at the Creighton University Medical Center. In 2006, declining health brought him to St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wis., where he remained until his death.

The person behind all these moves and ministries was a quiet, gentle Jesuit priest. Bob had the soul and sensibilities of a poet. He loved to tell stories and to hear the stories of others, especially stories connected to families. The complexities of the human person fascinated him. He loved to write, both for his own enjoyment and for others, and was dedicated to helping those battling addictions. For periods of his life, he struggled with serious health issues, particularly in his last years at St. Camillus. Through it all, he was a patient and priestly presence to those whose lives he shared.

VISITATION
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
5:30 p.m.
San Camillo Chapel
10200 W. Bluemound Rd.
Wauwatosa, WI

FUNERAL
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
7 p.m.
San Camillo Chapel
10200 W. Bluemound Rd.
Wauwatosa, WI