Cardinal Michael Louis Fitzgerald, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is a Missionary of Africa whose long and distinguished career in promoting dialogue between faiths culminated with him being appointed apostolic nuncio to Egypt and delegate to the League of Arab States.

Born on August 17, 1937, in Walsall, England, of Irish descent, Fitzgerald was ordained as a priest of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) on February 3, 1961, by Cardinal William Godfrey. Fitzgerald’s academic achievements include a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and an honors degree in Arabic from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies.

Fitzgerald’s career spans teaching, pastoral work, and significant roles within the Catholic Church. He taught at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome and Makerere University in Uganda before engaging in pastoral work in Sudan. In 1987, he was appointed Secretary of the Secretariat for non-Christians, later becoming the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 2002.

John Paul II appointed Fitzgerald to the titular see of Nepte on December 6, 1991, and consecrated him as bishop on January 6, 1992.

In 2006, Benedict XVI appointed Fitzgerald apostolic nuncio to Egypt and delegate to the League of Arab States, a position he held until October 2012. The appointment was a surprise as Fitzgerald was not trained as a Vatican diplomat. Some observers saw it as a strategic use of his background in Arabic and Islamic studies, while others viewed it as a sidelining of a prominent figure in interfaith dialogue as his approach to the subject was at odds with Benedict XVI’s.

After his diplomatic service, Fitzgerald resided in Jerusalem and later moved to Liverpool. The cardinal has authored numerous books and articles on dialogue between religions. In 2022, he was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to interfaith and interchurch partnerships.

Pope Francis elevated Fitzgerald to the rank of Cardinal in the Consistory of October 5, 2019, assigning him the Deaconry of Santa Marta in Portico.