Fr. Fitzgerald to transition to alternative ministry

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
June 10, 2004

ROYAL/EVERLY - Even for priests, life doesn't always go as they may have planned. That's when faith in the Lord along with hope in the future's new and exciting possibilities are called upon.

Progression of his illness, myotonic dystrophy, has made it necessary for Father Tim Fitzgerald to move out of ministry as a parish priest. He presently serves as pastor at St. Louis in Royal and St. Mary's in Everly and on July 13 he will begin an alternative ministry as chaplain at the Marian Home in Fort Dodge. He will also minister at the other nursing homes in the community.

Despite having a good attitude about his new ministry, the 40-year-old priest is saddened by the fact that he can no longer serve as a pastor.

"It's very, very hard for me to accept that I won't be doing parish ministry anymore," he acknowledged. "It was kind of a dream of mine that eventually I would be pastor in a larger parish - but that dream is gone."

His neuromuscular disease, one of the 44 forms of Muscular Dystrophy, causes atrophy of the muscles. It affects all of his muscles from his heart to his limbs, eyes and speech. While there is little physical pain, the priest mentioned that he must use an oxygen machine at night because breathing becomes difficult.

Diagnosed with the disease in 1995 while just in his early 30s, Father Fitzgerald acknowledged that it has gotten worse since he was first assigned to the Everly and Royal parishes in the year 2000. He has noticed progression of the illness and so have others.

"Steps are very hard for me and getting out of chairs is tough. Walking a long ways is hard and even driving a car is difficult," said Father Fitzgerald, who added that the cluster parishes of Everly, Royal and Spencer have recently held fundraisers to help him purchase a handicap-equipped van.

He pointed out that some time in the last year Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo, the former Bishop of Sioux City, had asked him to undergo an evaluation that tested his physical abilities and the overall progression of his illness. These results were compared to an evaluation a few years earlier, affirming the bishop's and his own suspicions of the disease's progression.

"After I had it and saw the results, I sent it to the personnel board along with a letter requesting that we look into what I should do," noted Father Fitzgerald.

At that time, the Priests Personnel Board determined that Father Fitzgerald should go into alternative ministry.

"I try to look at this from a positive standpoint. I've seen that I can still do ministry even though it is not the ministry I thought that I would be doing," he said. "The ministry that I will be doing is something good and something necessary. Even though it is tough to lose that dream, I still have hope and will have the opportunity to minister in a new way."

The fact that he previously served in Fort Dodge for four years as an associate, he noted, should help in this transition. He may even have some former parishioners to minister to at the Marian Home.

Through the struggles of his illness, it has given him the chance to pause and readjust his priorities.

"Serving God is what is really important," stressed Father Fitzgerald. "You don't have to be a parish priest to be vital or necessary to the priesthood."

He pointed out that in some ways, his faith is now stronger "because I have had to rely on other people and rely on God. I realize that God has a purpose and even though I don't know the reason, I believe that God does have a purpose for me other than what I thought it would be."

Father Fitzgerald finds solace in the familiar saying, "When God closes a door, he opens a window."

He mentioned that his present parishioners have been very supportive and they don't want to see him go. The priest also mentioned that he has found great support in Father Roger Linnan, who serves as pastor at Sacred Heart in Spencer.

His two sisters also have this same illness - that's three of his parents four children. One of those sisters is almost wheelchair-bound.