Edward Aloysius Fitzgerald

Edward Aloysius Fitzgerald (February 13, 1893—March 31, 1972) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Winona from 1949 to 1969.

Biography

Edward Fitzgerald was born in Cresco, Iowa, to Edward and Emma (née Daly) Fitzgerald. He graduated from Loras College in Dubuque in 1913, and earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Canada in 1915. He was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque on July 25, 1916.

He then served on the faculty of Loras College until 1941, when he became a pastor in Osage and afterwards in Elkader. On August 3, 1946, Pope Pius XII appointed Fitzgerald auxiliary bishop of the Dubuque Archdiocese, and he was ordained a bishop on September 12, 1946. On October 20, 1949, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Fitzgerald Bishop of the Winona Diocese; he retired on January 8, 1969.

He became known as "the building bishop" for his oversight of the construction of a cathedral, seminary, and several churches in the diocese. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965, and subsequently implemented the Council's reforms in the diocese, including introducing English into the Mass.