A Different Drummer: Alum Begins New Role as Vincentian Provincial

If, briefly, you examine the personal background and biography of Rev. Joseph G. Fitzgerald, C.M., Ph.D., S.T.D. ’01SJC, ’09M.A., the new Provincial of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), one of the most telling signs of what likely best prepared him for his new role may not be apparent.

The required education, seminary training, time spent as an international missionary, relevant research and academic publications, and ascending leadership roles—all hallmarks of a religious vocation journey—are evident. But, it is the following passing remark during a recent interview that may be the introit to how this 56-year-old will lead: “I was a drummer in an Irish folk Celtic rock band.”

Often the unsung hero of a musical group, the drummer is the heartbeat of the band. Drummers provide tempo and energy, and can nonverbally guide the mood and journey of a song by creating a collaborative environment where other musicians flourish. Drumming involves intense coordination, and drummers are active participants in the creative process, keeping time, contributing ideas for rhythms and song structures, and adapting to the crowd’s energy during a live performance.  

In a religious community, like the Vincentians, the Provincial is an officer acting under the superior general of a religious order, and exercising leadership and general supervision over all the local superiors in a subdivision of the religious order called a province.

Elected by his colleagues to a six-year term that began on June 1, 2026, Fr. Joe now finds himself back in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA. This city was never far from him, despite a vocation that took him to the far-flung, mountainous, Indigenous regions of the Republic of Panama.

The middle child of six children, born to an Irish immigrant mother and a first-generation American father, he was raised in a tight-knit Irish American family living the urban immigrant experience. “We were active in St. Martin of Tours parish and the community, and my uncle Rev. John Fitzgerald, C.M., was a Vincentian, so faith was always important,” he explained.

After completing Catholic education, he worked in the allied health industry focusing on nutrition, physical fitness, and weight loss, while still playing drums and hearing a steady beat of career discernment to serve the poor.

After meeting a local Vincentian, Rev. John Maher, C.M., who invited him to get to know the Vincentian charism better, Fr. Joe began the journey that would gradually lead him to ordination. He studied philosophy at St. John’s University while residing in the formation house in Oyster Bay, NY.  

Fr. Maher, now Superior, St. Vincent’s Seminary, and Trustee at St. John’s, recalled, “In 1997, while working for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, I gave a talk at St. Charles Seminary on religious life to men discerning priesthood. A few days later, I received a call from Joe Fitzgerald, asking to meet with me to discuss my vocation as a Vincentian. We met, and when I saw Joe had a genuine interest, I put him in touch with our vocation director.”

He added, “Months later, my Provincial transferred me to St. John’s to start a residence life program, live at our college seminary, and assist in their formation. I enjoyed working with an intelligent, faith-filled, young man: Joe Fitzgerald. I cannot take credit for his vocational choice, but I am glad I was available when he had questions and needed to talk.”

As an undergraduate active in campus ministry and service projects, he made a lasting impression on his then-classmate and now University Chaplain, Rev. Tri M. Duong, C.M. ’00SJC. “Like St. Vincent de Paul, Fr. Joe is not afraid to meet people where they are, responding with humility, compassion, and respect,” Fr. Tri said. “Through his life and ministry, he demonstrates that faith is not simply something we believe, but something we put into practice by serving others and honoring the dignity of every person.”

Ordained at the age of 35, he has vast missionary experience in Panama, where he also served as a Superior and, most recently, as the Regional Superior. He was part of the second cohort to earn a Master of Arts degree in Global Development and Social Justice from the Rome, Italy, location of St. John’s, along with a master’s in theology and one in divinity from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, NY.

During his missionary tenure, he undertook a unique ministry to the Ngäbe-Buglé community, the largest group of indigenous people in Panama. He learned their language, ethos, and customs. He helped facilitate translation of Biblical texts and Mass readings in their language. These actions helped make the Catholic faith and sacraments more present to the Ngäbe-Buglé community.

Fluent in Spanish, Fr. Joe also speaks Ngäbere, a Chibchan language spoken by the Indigenous Ngäbe people in Panama and Costa Rica. In 2018, while working with the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé people in the central highlands of Panama’s Western provinces, he earned doctorates in theology (Ph.D. and STD) from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín. The next year, he helped organize the first World Encounter of Indigenous Youth in the lead-up to World Youth Day in Panama.  

Fr. Joe is the author of the book Danza en la Casa de Ngöbö (Abya Yala Press, 2019), which puts Catholic social teaching in dialogue with the indigenous Ngäbe worldview. He has published numerous articles and publications that examine the intersection of indigenous ecological vision and Catholic social teaching, and a forthcoming thematic memoir about accompanying the Ngäbe environmental movements as they defend their forests and rivers against extraction projects.

Mindful of the importance and potential of serving young people here and abroad, and with a focus on Catholic social teaching, the new provincial shared some of his visions and prayers for the future. “We need to bring our universities into our planning and service and build greater collaborations between the province and our local and international sites,” he shared.

On mission, he remarked: “Our Catholic and Vincentian identity and what it means must be a priority in our decision making. Being Vincentian is an identity, and we do a disservice to our students if we hide that identity. When we identify as who we are as Catholics, that is universal, and as Vincentians, it is in service. If a student encounters that it will help them to learn, to discern and put into their own lives, and to understand who we are better.”

Fr. Joe is widely known for his kindness, vision, and dedication to the poorest of the poor. “We serve the poor, and they must not be objects of our service, but partners in our mission,” he shared. “We must offer a testimony of how we live in the world, and appropriate this to our laity.”

Attesting to that sentiment, Fr. Tri added: “Fr. Fitzgerald already created unforgettable experiences for our students through the Plunge program to Panama. He has helped our students to better understand the reality of the communities there.”

As he embarks on this important responsibility, Fr. Joe looks forward to meeting students during a scheduled visit to St. John’s in September. He plans to celebrate the Eucharist with students and will personally ask for their prayers that God grant him wisdom, strength, and abundant blessings in his new ministry.

Ever the drummer—and acknowledging that in his own life he heard and eventually responded to the beat of a different drum—Fr. Joe encourages people to listen to that internal rhythm and make their own unique path guided by the Holy Spirit.

As he says, “Always, go with God.”