Edmund Fitzgibbon (bishop)


Edmund Joseph Fitzgibbon was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria.

Early life and education

Edmund Fitzgibbon was born in Ballylegan, County Cork, Ireland. He was ordained a priest on 9 April 1950, for the St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions. On 25 November 1964, Fitzgibbon was appointed as the Prefect of Minna, Nigeria.
Bishop Edmund J. Fitzgibbon 1925–2010 opened Fatima Secondary School in January 1965 to cater for the education of girls and boys in the Minna area. It was also the first secondary in Minna town and the first secondary school to provide education for girls in Niger State. He also opened Maryamu Secondary School Bida 1966 Zuru Secondary School 1966: Kontagora Technical College 1967. All these Schools including St. Malachy's Teaches College became Government Secondary in January 1973.

Fitzgibbon was also very much involved with youth. He trained the Calabar team that won the Governors’ cup in 1954. A street in Calabar is now named after Bishop Fitzgibbon.
The young catholic Students movement came into Nigeria in 1959, It was miss Freda O' Mahoney, with the help & support of most Rev Dr Edmund Fitzgibbon,Bishop Emeritus of warri,who introduced it in Nigeria.By 1965 it had become a national movement.From Nigeria,it spread to other English Speaking West African countries.All this while it was still known as Young Christian Students,till 1982 when the Bishop's Conference Of Nigeria decided to change it to Young Catholic Students.

Episcopal appointments

On 20 November 1975, he was appointed Titular Bishop for Forum Traiani and Apostolic Administrator for what is now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt and for what later became the Diocese of Warri He was consecrated as a bishop on 12 July, of the same year. The Principal Consecrator was Cardinal Agnelo Rossi; his Principal Co-Consecrators were Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, and Bishop James Moynagh.
In 1983, Fitzgibbon appointed Father Joseph Brookman-Amissah as the part-time chaplain of the Chapel of the Annunciation at the University of Port Harcourt at its temporary location. Fitzgibbon made his first pastoral visit to the university 3 June 1984. On July 17, 1988 and his second visit, he requested a permanent location for the chapel.
On 31 August 1991, Fitzgibbon was appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Warri. He retired in 2005.