18.3.2013
Michael Louis FITZGERALD
Born in Walsall, England, 17 August 1937.
Ordained priest 3 February 1961 as a member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers).
Appointed titular bishop of Nepte, 16 December 1991.
Ordained bishop by H.H.Pope John Paul II, 6 January 1992.
Raised to the dignity of Archbishop, 1 October 2002.
Higher studies
1961-65 Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
Doctorate in theology. Thesis: The Missionary Intention of the Latin Apologists
1965-68 School of Oriental and African Studies, London University
B.A. in Arabic
Positions filled
1968-78 Staff member of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome
1969-71 Seconded to the Department of Religious Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
1972-78 Director of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies
1978-80 Pastoral work in Halfa Jedida, Archdiocese of Khartoum, Sudan
1980-86 Member of the General Council of the Society of Missionaries of Africa
1987-02 Secretary of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, later the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
2002-06 President, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
2006-12 Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt and Delegate to the League of Arab States
2012- Resident at St Anne’s, Jerusalem
Address
Pères Blancs, Ste Anne, P.O.Box 19079
9119002 JERUSALEM via ISRAEL
Additional appointments
1972-82 Consultor of the Secretariat for Non-Christians
1987-02 Member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
1987-93 Consultor of the Secretariat (later Council) for Non-Believers
1987-03 Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews
1991-03 Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
1993-03 Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture
1994-00 Member of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"
1995-01 Member of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000, and President of the Commission for Dialogue
1999-06 Member of the Commission for Latin America
1999-02 Member of the Joint Working Group of the Catholic Church with the World Council of Churches
2002-06 Member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Publications
- (with R.DIONNE) Catalysts, The White Fathers of Africa, Dublin,1980, xxii 308p., revised edition 1998.
- (with R.CASPAR) Signs of Dialogue. Christian Encounter with Muslims, Silsilah Publications, Zamboanga City, 1992, xiv 245p.
- Dieu rêve d'unité. Les catholiques et les religions: les leçons du dialogue. Entretiens avec Annie Laurent, Paris, Bayard Presse, 2005, 215p. (Italian translation, Milan, Città Nuova, 2007)
- (with John BORELLI) Interfaith Dialogue. A Catholic View, SPCK, London & Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, 2006, xii + 255 p. (partial translation into Italian, Milan, San Paolo, 2007)
- numerous articles in various journals (Bulletin. Pontificium Consilium pro Dialogo inter Religiones(now published as Pro Dialogo); Concilium; Islamochristiana; Spiritus; Origins; etc.
Decorations and Awards
Mohammad Nafi Tschelebi Medienpreis (2004)
Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (22 November 2005)
The Pax Christi Award, Saint John’s Abbey and University , Collegeville, Minnesota (2007)
Conventual Chaplain ad honorem, Sovereign Military Order of Malta (25 June 2009)
Honorary Doctorate from the Australian Catholic University (5 May 2014)
Languages
English, French, Italian; knowledge of Arabic, some German.
Archbishop Michael Louis FITZGERALD
Michael Fitzgerald was born in Walsall (U.K.) in 1937. Ordained priest as a member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in 1961, he obtained his doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (1965) and a B.A.hons in Arabic from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University (1968). After teaching at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome, there followed two years of pastoral work in Sudan. After a period on the General Council of the Missionaries of Africa 1980-1986, there came in 1987 an appointment as Secretary of the Secretariat for Non Christians, now Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. In 1991 Fr Fitzgerald was appointed titular bishop of Nepte and was ordained by Pope John Paul II on 6 January 1992. On 1 October 2002 he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and was raised to the rank of archbishop. On 15 February 2006 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt and Delegate to the League of Arab States. On his retirement in October 2012, he took up residence at Ste Anne’s, Jerusalem. He is author (with R.Caspar) of Signs of Dialogue. Christian Encounter with Muslims (1992); Dieu rêve d'unité. Les catholiques et les religions: les leçons du dialogue. Entretiens avec Annie Laurent (2005); (with John Borelli) of Interfaith Dialogue. A Catholic View (2006), and of numerous articles in Concilium, Islamochristiana, Pro Dialogo, Gregorianum, Origins etc.
