Fr. Patrick Joseph Fitzpatrick, CSSp

Fr. PATRICK JOSEPH FITZPATRICK, CSSp

September 21,1934 – December 7, 2023

FR. PATRICK FITZPATRICK (Pat) of the Spiritan Province of TransCanada died peacefully in the early morning hours of December 7th, 2023. Fr. Pat was predeceased by his parents, Sean and Mary (nee O’Brien) and his only brother, Brian. He is survived by distant family members and close friends in Ireland, the United States and Canada. Fr. Pat was born on September 21, 1934 in Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland. He made his first profession of vows as a Spiritan on September 8, 1953 and was ordained to the priesthood on July 14, 1963. During his 70 years of Religious Life and his 60 years as a priest, Fr. Pat made many important contributions to Catholic education in Ontario and to the life of the Spiritan Province of TransCanada, as well as positively impacting the lives of innumerable people with his gentle, thoughtful pastoral care.

First assigned to Canada in 1964, Fr. Pat taught at Neil McNeil High School where he headed the Religion department while also serving as the Spiritan Formation Director. In 1980, Fr. Pat joined the Catholic Teachers Centre of the Metropolitan Separate School Board. In 1991, Fr. Pat returned to Neil McNeil High School as Chaplain and later served as the Adult Faith Consultant for the Dufferin Peel Roman Catholic School Board until his “retirement” in 1999. From the time of his official “retirement,” Fr. Pat worked actively in service of the Spiritan community, and in various pastoral ministries in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Fr. Pat served as Laval House Superior, as a member of several Provincial Councils and he dutifully served 6 years as Provincial Superior of the TransCanada Spiritans. As Provincial Superior, Fr. Pat was one of the founding members of Joint Apostolic Ministries and its refugee outreach ministry, Becoming Neighbours. Since 2002, up until April this year (more than 21 years), Fr. Pat also served faithfully as Chaplain to the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA).

Fr. Pat will also be remembered for his award winning work as editor of the TransCanada missionary magazine, Spiritan from 1999 until just a couple of years before his death. For many years, Fr. Pat also touched the lives of many people through his morning Masses and homilies televised on Vision TV. Fr. Pat was known for his strong interest in, and commitment to, Catholic education as well as to bringing an awareness of the missions to all. He will be missed by his Spiritan confreres, the education community in Ontario, the Irish community in Toronto and beyond, and his many, many friends in Canada, the USA and his native Ireland.

Visitation was held on Monday, December 18, from 3:00-5:00 PM and from 7:00-9:00 PM (with Vigil prayer service at 8:00 PM). at Paul O’Connor Funeral Home, 1939 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough, ON, M1R 2Y8. Funeral Mass was celebrated on Tuesday, December 19, at 11:00 AM. At St. Joseph’s Church, 200 Morrish Road, Scarborough, ON, M1C 1E8. The Mass will be followed by a light reception in the church hall. There was a live stream link available on the Paul O’Connor Funeral Home website www.pauloconnorfunerals.ca for those unable to attend the Mass in person. Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, Toronto at 2:30 PM.