Msgr. Fitzgerald shines as stellar Judge alumnus

Courtesy photo/Judge Memorial Catholic High School

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Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald is shown in his 1954 Judge Memorial Catholic High School yearbook photo.

By Emerson Pratt

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY — Over the years, teachers and students have come and gone at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, but some of former students have remained active in the school community. Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, is one of these.

Msgr. Fitzgerald attended Judge from 1945 through 1954, when it was a grammar school as well as high school.

"I had wonderful friends. I remember the parties, dances, and May processions around campus where we sang hymns in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "I had great teachers: Sisters of the Holy Cross, Diocesan priests and laity. They were all very well-qualified teachers who cared for each of us and inspired us to love learning."

At the time, Judge Memorial was the only Catholic high school in the valley, and Catholic students formed a strong community, he said; he still stays in contact with his Judge classmates.

He attributes the education he received at Judge Memorial with helping him be at the top of his class at the seminary, which he attended after high school.

There have been many changes at Judge since Msgr. Fitzgerald graduated. One difference was that, in the 1950s, all the classes were taught by six priests and 25 sisters. Also the only sports offered were men’s football, and basketball. There were no women’s sports.

Msgr. Fitzgerald said that he wasn’t into football or basketball, so he joined the yearbook, the newspaper and the glee club.

Another, more serious, change that has been occurring is that more and more high school students are thought to be losing interest in religion. Msgr. Fitzgerald says that with all the new technologies, it is much easier to access news, and media usually highlight the negative aspects of religion. Another contributor to this development is divorce, and the splitting of families. "In my day, divorce had not even been heard of," Msgr. Fitzgerald said, adding that divorce takes away the family support that was much more common when he was in high school

"We’re so confronted," he said. "I don’t believe they (high school students) lose faith, it’s always inside them. Young people are just searching, trying all different styles in life." He says that most of them return to religion because "religion is freeing;" they want this life for themselves and/or their children.

Msgr. Fitzgerald attended The Catholic University of America, and earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Utah. He has helped many charities in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Pope John Paul 11 bestowed the title of monsignor on then-Father Fitzgerald in 1991, the same year he became the principal of Judge Memorial Catholic High School, a position he held until 1993.

"I survived, the students survived, but it was an adjustment for the staff," he said. "I was a bit more traditional in how I ran things."

Joan Jensen, now a teacher at Judge, was a student at the time when Msgr. Fitzgerald became the principal. She remembers him vividly. "The word was that he had taken the position in order to clean up the school," Jensen said. "I found that students who previously got away with all kinds of things were called on those behaviors and held accountable for their choices. Although Monsignor was seen as quite strict, what I saw and appreciated were clear expectations, accountability for actions, and no tolerance for those who broke the rules. This shaped the remainder of my high school career and made me feel both safe and respected as a student."

After leaving the position of principal in 1993, Msgr. Fitzgerald has held numerous posts in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He has served twice as administrator: once when Bishop William Weigand, who was ordained Bishop of Salt Lake City in 1980, was installed as Bishop of Sacramento in 1994, and again when then-Bishop George Niederauer was installed as archbishop of the Diocese of San Francisco in 2006.

Msgr. Fitzgerald recently co-authored a new edition of "Salt of the Earth" with Bernice Maher Mooney, which covers the history of the Catholic Church in Utah since 1776.

Last August, Judge Memorial showed its appreciation of all that Msgr. Fitzgerald has done by honoring him for his work in rebuilding the school’s stadium.

Msgr. Fitzgerald will retire as vicar general in June, but will continue to serve on various boards within the diocese.

Emerson Pratt is a sophomore at Judge Memorial Catholic High School. He is also a graduate of The Madeleine Choir School.