Father Fitzgerald Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Ordination
May 23, 2025
As a Catholic priest celebrating 50 years of service to the Church, Father Tim Fitzgerald has made a significant impact on the Diocese of Des Moines and in the lives of many individuals.
Originally raised on a farm near Altoona, Father Fitzgerald attended Dowling High School in Des Moines and was one of a dozen young men who, upon graduating high school, enrolled at Loras College in Dubuque to study at the college seminary and discern the priesthood.
After completing his undergraduate degree in philosophy with a minor in biology, Father Fitzgerald pursued his vocation and eventually attended major seminary in Europe.
“I had the great opportunity to study theology at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium for three years,” he said.
Dedication to the Liturgy
He returned to the United States after he was ordained to the transitional diaconate and spent his final year of seminary studying liturgy at St. John’s University at Collegeville, Minnesota. That experience sparked an interest that he carried with him throughout his career as a priest.
He was ordained a priest on July 25, 1975.
Father Fitzgerald spent six years at Notre Dame on the staff of Center for Pastoral Liturgy from 1993 to 1999. The center sponsored workshops and a pastoral liturgy conference each summer, published liturgical books, articles and other writings, and served as a resource for dioceses around the country.
One memorable experience for Father Fitzgerald was helping with preparations for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Iowa in 1979. Father Fitzgerald served on the Diocesan Worship Commission and worked with Mary Ann Simcoe, the new director of worship for the Diocese. She recounted her first diocesan staff meeting and Bishop Maurice Dingman telling the group, “I want to confirm that the pope is coming in six weeks.” Some people in the room nearly fell out of their chairs when the bishop made the announcement.
Bishop Dingman was a profound presence for Father Fitzgerald and supported him as a mentor and a leader.
“Bishop Dingman served the Diocese for nearly 20 years and, in some ways, was much like Pope Francis,” he said. “Bishop Dingman arrived on the heels of the Second Vatican Council and took the council’s call to renewal of the Church very seriously. He put a high priority on starting from the ground up and not operating from the top down. I am always grateful for that methodology.”
Implementing RCIA
Implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA, now called Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA) in 1980 was a “hugely significant experience” that led Father Fitzgerald to want to study liturgy further. As part of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate for 20 years, he helped with workshops in dioceses seeking to implement the new rite.
His experience led him to be an ideal candidate for the staff of the St. Joseph Educational Center, where he served for six years.
“We did a lot of teaching and resourcing in adult faith formation, sacramental preparation, and Scripture,” he says.
After St. Joseph Educational Center and his six-year assignment at the University of Notre Dame, Father Fitzgerald began a position in the new Office of Adult Faith Formation at the Diocese of Des Moines.
“It sprang from the U.S. bishops’ document Our Hearts Were Burning within Us, declaring that ‘Adult growth in faith is to be front and center in all faith formation efforts,’” he said. “The document began a revival of faith formation and growth of adult formation that is still underway.
Back to His Roots
The last 12 years of Father Fitzgerald’s priestly ministry led him back to parish life as pastor at Ss. John and Paul Parish in Altoona.
“When I grew up in that part of the county, there weren’t enough Catholics to count,” Fitzgerald says. “When I joined the parish as pastor in 2009, there were about 700 households. It’s grown steadily since, due to all the new housing in the area.”
While pastor of the parish, he oversaw the construction of a new parish hall and an addition on the faith development center and youth ministry center. Father Fitzgerald retired as pastor on July 7, 2021. Today, the parish has more than 850 registered households and continues to grow.
Now retired, Father Fitzgerald enjoys hobbies like beekeeping and reading. He also celebrates Mass at Emmaus House in Urbandale, and St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Student Center on the campus of Drake University.
Fathers Tim Fitzgerald and Vince Rosonke will have a joint celebration marking their 50th anniversary of ordination. It will be Aug. 3 at St. Boniface in Waukee beginning with an open house at 12:30 p.m. and concluding with a 2 p.m. Mass. All are invited.