Catholic priest
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Warri in Nigeria
Edmund (Ned) Joseph Fitzgibbon was an Irish Roman Catholic missionary and bishop who served in Nigeria for over five decades and was a member of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society.
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Edmund (Ned) Joseph Fitzgibbon (1 March 1925 – 17 April 2010) was an Irish Roman Catholic missionary and bishop who served in Nigeria for over five decades and was a member of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers).
Fitzgibbon was born in March 1925 in Ballylegan, Glanworth, County Cork, Ireland, as the youngest of ten children. He was born a twin alongside his brother, Jim. Their only sister, Margaret died due to 1918 flu epidemic at the age of three.
Initially joining the Presentation Brothers, Fitzgibbon discerned a calling to missionary priesthood and entered the seminary of the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers) in 1943 and was ordained a priest on 9 April 1950.
Fitzgibbon began his ministry in Nigeria in 1949.
In 1964, he was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Minna.
Several schools under his tenure were founded, including Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Secondary School 1995, Maryamu Secondary School in Bida (1966),
Zuru Secondary School (now in Kebbi State, 1966),
and Kontagora Technical College (1967).
Fitzgibbon also supported the introduction of the Young Christian Students (YCS) movement in Nigeria in 1959, collaborating with Freda O'Mahoney (later Mrs. Ogunade). By 1965, YCS had spread to other English-speaking West African countries. In 1982, the movement was later renamed the Young Catholic Students (YCS).
On 20 November 1975, Fitzgibbon was appointed Titular Bishop of Forum Traiani and Apostolic Administrator for the territories that would become the Dioceses of Port Harcourt and Warri.
Edmund Fitzgibbon was appointed Bishop of Warri on 31 August 1991. He served as bishop until his retirement on 3 March 1997.
After his retirement, Fitzgibbon continued his pastoral work. He assisted in the administration of the Archdiocesan Marian Shrine in Lagos, a significant site for the Archdiocese, and supported Archbishop Anthony Cardinal Okogie in various pastoral activities.
Fitzgibbon died on 17 April 2010 in Ireland at the age of 85. He was buried at the headquarters of the St. Patrick's Missionary Society in Kiltegan, County Wicklow.