Fitzpatrick, Ambrose

Ambrose Fitzpatrick (1787-1818), Catholic priest, was born in Kilkenny, Ireland. As a young man, he entered the Order of St. Francis, and was ordained a Franciscan friar.

Rev. Fitzpatrick arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland circa 1800 at the invitation of Bishop James Louis O'Donel, Vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland. He was appointed parish priest at Harbour Grace, succeeding Rev. Patrick Phelan, who had drowned in 1799. Fitzpatrick remained at this parish from 1800 to 1806. From 1806 to1815, he served as a parish priest in the ecclesiastical district of Ferryland, with his residence at Ferryland.

In July 1815, Fitzpatrick left Newfoundland for Prince Edward Island, with the permission of Patrick Lambert, Vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland, to seek a new appointment in a warmer climate. Bishop Joseph Octave Plessis of Quebec, whose jurisdiction included the territory of Prince Edward Island, initially questioned Fitzpatrick's clerical credentials. Nonetheless, the bishop eventually instructed his vicar general, Rev. MacEachern, to place Fitzpatrick in spiritual charge of the people in Charlottetown, where he ministered for approximately one year.

In a letter dated 30 April 1816 (Archives of the Diocese of Charlottetown), Rev. MacEachern wrote: "In one of my excursions visiting the sick late in the fall to Three Rivers and East Point, Mr. Fitzpatrick took his departure in a transport for Halifax. I never heard of him since but learned the other day that he was to return to Newfoundland...." Fitzpatrick went to Boston in 1818. The place and date of his death are unknown.

Created - May 12, 2013

• English