News Photo by Darby Hinkley Father Jim Fitzpatrick holds up a custom-made chalice featuring pieces of stone from the Holy Land. The Alpena priest has been serving for 50 years, with no intention of stopping any time soon. He will be honored in a mass at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Bernard’s church, where he grew up.

ALPENA — He knew he wanted to be a priest when he was 13 years old.

Ordained 50 years ago, Father Jim Fitzpatrick, 77, is still serving the community by bringing the love and word of God to others.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination, a mass will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Bernard’s Church in Alpena, the same church in which Fitzpatrick grew up.

A native of Alpena, Fitzpatrick grew up in the Catholic tradition. Serving God has always appealed to him, so he decided to become a priest. He attended St. Bernard Catholic School, and he always admired the nuns and priests.

“I decided while I was in eighth grade that I wanted to be a priest,” he said.

After the eighth grade, he went right into seminary at St. Lawrence in Wisconsin, where he went to high school and his first two years of college.

He was ordained at St. Bernard’s in Alpena.

“It was the first ordination of a Catholic priest in the city,” Fitzpatrick noted. “St. Bernard’s has a great place of affection in my heart. It’s where I was baptized, where I made my first confession. It was terribly uninteresting. And, of course, my first communion, confirmation.”

He said the Bishop came from Saginaw to his confirmation.

“It was grueling,” he recalled. “The catechism had 144 questions that you had to memorize the answers to.”

He’s excited to be celebrating at his home church.

“It’s very meaningful for me, after 50 years of priesthood, to be able to celebrate with a mass of thanksgiving in the parish where I was ordained, with the people of Alpena, whom I love,” Fitzpatrick said.

Over the years, the friendly father has served many congregations and touched many hearts for the Lord.

“Although I retired 10 years ago, I came back to Alpena, which is my hometown,” Fitzpatrick said. “And I have been assisting covering parishes in the Gaylord Diocese since I retired.”

He spent six months in Cheboygan covering a parish there, nearly two years at St. Ignatius in Rogers City, and presently he is serving St. Rose of Lima parish in Herron.

“I’ve been there about two-and-a-half years,” he said.

“Father Fitz was sent to St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rogers City a few years ago to serve our parish during a very difficult time,” said Bernadette Shafto, secretary of St. Ignatius. “We do not have adequate words to say how the Lord used him during this time to minister to our parish family. He loved us and cared for us like the wonderful shepherd that he is, and we are ever grateful for him.”

“It’s my impression that he appears to be a shepherd of the people,” said Cindy Wahl, coordinator of Fitzpatrick’s 50th anniversary of his ordination. She has been in Alpena since 2013, and, since then, she has noticed how people are drawn to Fitzpatrick’s warmth and servant’s heart.

“Father Jim is a people’s priest,” she said. “And, despite his busy schedule, he is always …ready to respond, when someone calls.”

Wahl said he came to her home and administered the sacrament of the sick to her husband, who has been hospitalized and has lung problems. He also administered the sacrament to her because she has arthritis and COPD.

“That’s the kind of priest he is,” Wahl said. “He will make time for you. He is a servant.”

Fitzpatrick’s actual ordination date was Feb. 13, but the celebration was postponed until now because of the pandemic, he said.

Archbishop Paul Russell will be at the mass on Tuesday.

“He has been with the Vatican Diplomatic Corps,” Fitzpatrick said of Russell. “He served as ambassador representing the Vatican in various countries. He just finished his term in Turkey. And he happens to be in town, so he is going to preach my mass of thanksgiving.”

Fitzpatrick was instrumental in the reinstallation of a new historically-inspired main altar at St. Bernard’s, dedicated in 2015 as part of the church’s 150th anniversary celebration. The church was the first Catholic church established in Alpena. The altar features pieces from the original altar, incorporated into an authentic-looking design that resembles the original. He coordinated altar-altering efforts with Russell, who is also originally from St. Bernard’s.

It was a $320,000 idea.

“It was just incredible,” Fitzpatrick noted. “Within four weeks … we went over our goal. Can you imagine that?”

He was floored by the generosity of the Catholic community in Alpena.

“St. Bernard’s, at that point, was not a rich parish,” he recalled. “But it was a sign of the sacrifice of the people.”

He said the church is such an outstanding example of historic Gothic architecture, that college architecture students from the University of Michigan would come up annually to study it.

“It really says something about the beauty of that building,” Fitzpatrick said.

He has performed many services in the community, including a large number of Catholic funerals at Karpus-Hunter Funeral Home. Many people in Alpena have crossed paths with Fitzpatrick.

“Our prayer for him, at this 50th ordination anniversary celebration, is that the Lord would give him strength and courage to continue to love as Jesus did, forever proclaim the truth of the gospel, and experience God’s shalom peace,” Shafto concluded.

Fitzpatrick said he may not be qualified to critique his own homilies, but he can give a few pieces of advice to those who choose to listen.

“It has been my belief, through the 50 years that I’ve been a priest, that … the most important thing I do during the week is prepare and give the homily,” he said.

A homily is also known as a sermon.

“Because, there is no faith without the word being preached,” he said of The Holy Bible. “That doesn’t mean that the other stuff is not important. It’s critically important for a priest or a minister to be there for the dying, or for the sick, or for the poor, to help them.”

Preaching is very important, though.

“I have been told that I’m a fairly decent preacher,” Fitzpatrick said. “But, it does not come about without tremendous effort. First of all, you have to love the community you’re serving. You have to be tied into life as they’re experiencing it.”

He said if the priest or minister is not tied into the life of his community, “you will give boring theology, they’ll take a little nap, and then they’ll go home.”

He said being involved in the community every day, and not just on Sunday, is essential to being a good community leader.

“One of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd is to make sure that the homily, or the sermon, is faith-encouraging and faith-inspiring, to help them get through the next week,” Fitzpatrick said.

“One thing about Father Jim, is he embraces the reality of what’s going on,” Wahl added. “Like Afghanistan or persecution, etcetera, and he points to us that it is our moral responsibility to try to put an end to it, or at least respond to it … and that’s really important in today’s day and age.”

“People go where they’re fed,” Fitzpatrick added.