A Priest and His Flock

IRISH priests and the Bronx were once synonymous, but in recent times they have become more rare. However, one priest is bucking the trend.An export from, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Father Brendan Fitzgerald, 34, took time out from his ministry to speak to the Irish Voice about his time as a priest and what he feels he was put on this earth to do. Donned in the traditional priestly attire, Fitzgerald said if it wasn't for the faith and values instilled in him by his parents Esther and Denis, both resident now in New York, he wouldn't be a priest today."The faith my mother and father gave me was a great gift," he said. "How deprived I would have been if they had said we won't force anything on him, we will let him decide when he is older."Although born in Rockaway, Queens, Fitzgerald grew up in Killarney when his parents moved back for a time and studied for the priesthood in St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, Co. Kildare and the national seminary of Ireland.After spending four years in Ireland studying philosophy, Fitzgerald traveled to Rome to continue his theology studies and was ordained at the age of 26.Reflecting on the years he spent in Rome, a fond memory struck Fitzgerald. "I served Mass the day after the Good Friday Agreement was reached," he remembered. "I was washing Pope John Paul II's hands," something Fitzgerald said he had the pleasure of doing on a couple of occasions. The pope asked the young priest where he was from. "I said from Kerry, Ireland."The moments that followed will remain with Fitzgerald forever. The pope turned to him and said, "Today is a great day for the Irish." Fitzgerald said that the Pope, even in a time when he was sick with Parkinson's Disease, remembered Ireland and the strife it was enduring."It was obviously something he was praying about and something close to his heart," Fitzgerald added. Throughout his studies in Rome, Fitzgerald also had the pleasure of meeting Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.This week's papal visit to the U.S. is one of utmost importance said Fitzgerald, adding that it will be a catalyst for change. He believes the five-day visit will open people's eyes to a faith that had ceased to exist in their lives."When Pope Benedict comes, he is coming as Peter and he will bestow his blessing on all people, including the Irish community in the Bronx and Yonkers," said Fitzgerald.It is Fitzgerald's hope that Benedict's blessings will touch many young people so they will turn towards the church again. During his tenure in Rome, Fitzgerald went to India to work with Mother Teresa. "All the good work she did, feeding the sick, clothing the naked, it all began with prayer and ended with prayer and was carried out with prayer," Fitzgerald said, admitting it inspired him so much.After serving his time in Rome, Fitzgerald was appointed to work with the primary schools in Limerick as an advisor on religious education, and it was there he stayed until he began to feel the pangs of loneliness two years ago."I missed my parents and my brothers who all live in New York, and that is how I wound up here at St. Barnabas," he said. "I just applied and they took me in," he smiled.Fitzgerald feels God blessed him with a "lovely" parish. "St. Barnabas has lots of opportunities to reach out to people and especially all the young people here," he said, adding that St. Barnabas is "no doubt the center" of this community. "I walk into a store and I'm with my parishioners, or I walk down the street and I'm with my parishioners. There is that great neighborhood feeling."The Kerryman feels younger members of the parish, especially the immigrants, should follow the lead of their elders. Quoting the Irish saying "N thagan ciall roimh aois" (sense comes with age), Fitzgerald said when Irish immigrants came to the U.S. years ago the first place they sought out was the church and then the Mass times, and everything stemmed from that. "Their faith and the practicing of their faith was central in their lives," he said.Fitzgerald, whose parents own an Irish bar in Manhattan, feels many of the problems with the younger people in the Irish community are related to the abuse of alcohol and drugs. "From these stems various types of depression and anxiety," he said. "I can't help but think that there is a connection between their lost faith and these issues." Fitzgerald urges the young Irish community to "praise God" because he said when we stop doing that "everything starts going wrong."Fitzgerald not only uses the pulpit to reach out to his parishioners, he embraces opportunities on the street or in the local coffee shop to have a chat with people in the parish.Fitzgerald, who admits he is "not a cool priest," said he does not believe in telling his parishioners "your grand, God is good and you'll be forgiven." That, he said "keeps them in a prison."Fitzgerald's message to his young parishioners is simple. "When you realize you are in the depths of addiction, or living promiscuous lifestyles and are feeling used and like guinea pigs being experimented on, then call out to God."He finished by saying, "The most beautiful thing to know is even if a person has strayed from God all is not lost. They can come to Mass and drink deeply from the fountain of his mercy."