The announcement concludes a search process that started last summer, soon after it had been made known that Father McGinn would be stepping down from the post he has held since the 1992-93 school year. The search attracted widespread interest among the Jesuits, but in the end, it was a local candidate who was unanimously chosen to take over the school’s top job — a native New Orleanian and a Blue Jay alumnus who entered the Society of Jesus in 1980 and was ordained a priest in 1991.
Fr. Fitzgerald blesses the rings that seniors received on September 12, 2009. By pure chance, Fr. Fitzgerald was
the main celebrant of the Mass, which sparked the first rumors, especially among parents, that he was the
“chosen one” to succeed Fr. McGinn.
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“Father Fitzgerald’s impeccable credentials, his keen intellect and analytical abilities, his reverence and devout spirituality, his intimate knowledge of Jesuit as an alumnus, teacher, and administrator, and his allegiance to Jesuit’s excellent academic and athletic traditions — all were critical factors which made him the search committee’s preeminent choice to succeed Father McGinn,” said Arthur S. Mann III, who served as chairman of the search committee. “This is a best case scenario,” added Mann, who also is current chairman of Jesuit’s Board of Directors, “because it sets a course for a smooth transition and allows Father McGinn to finish some important projects currently underway, not the least of which is focusing on raising the requisite funds to develop a new and much-needed athletic complex for Jesuit’s sports teams.” The search committee, composed of Mann and four additional members of Jesuit’s Board of Directors, unanimously recommended Father Fitzgerald to the entire Board. After selecting Father Fitzgerald, the Board requested that Rev. Mark A. Lewis, S.J., who serves as the Provincial of the New Orleans Province, approve its choice. “I am grateful to Fr. McGinn for his flexibility and openness to remain in his post for an additional year. Father Fitzgerald has been a key member of my staff and while I willingly make him available for this mission to Jesuit High School, I appreciate the additional time that this will provide to allow a smooth transition.” Fr. Mark A. Lewis, S.J.
Jesuit Provincial |
“I am happy to approve Father Fitzgerald as the next President of Jesuit High School,” said Father Lewis. “Having worked closely with Father Fitzgerald for these past years, I know that he will bring the same diligence and hard work to this position that he has shown as a member of the Province staff. Given his long experience and great love for Jesuit secondary education, I know he will be an excellent leader for the Jesuit High School community. “I am grateful to Fr. McGinn for his flexibility and openness to remain in his post for an additional year,” he added. “Father Fitzgerald has been a key member of my staff and while I willingly make him available for this mission to Jesuit High School, I appreciate the additional time that this will provide to allow a smooth transition.” Father Fitzgerald will become only the 15th president since 1919, when the school was located downtown on the corner of Baronne and Common Streets and adjacent to the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Jesuit moved to its present Mid-City location of Carrollton and Banks in 1926. He will be the fifth consecutive alumnus to occupy the president’s office. 
Fr. Fitzgerald talks with a student in 2004
while visiting from Dallas.
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Father Fitzgerald said he is “honored and humbled” by his appointment. “I approach this office with a deep sense of gratitude and respect for all the administrators, teachers, benefactors, and alumni whose dedication and sacrifice for 163 years have made Jesuit the fine school that it is,” said Father Fitzgerald.
“I wish to acknowledge particularly the great work of Father McGinn, whose wise and principled guidance continues to serve Jesuit and its families well,” he continued. “I find great encouragement in knowing the Jesuits, faculty, and students now at Carrollton and Banks. Their example and spirit give me great hope for the future. Jesuit’s mission statement calls upon all in the school to foster ‘men of faith and men for others.’ I look forward to working with all those connected to Jesuit to strive for this goal.” Born in New Orleans on July 13, 1958, Raymond Richard Fitzgerald, Jr. grew up in Broadmoor on South Johnson Street, the son of Raymond, Sr. and Mary Caire Fitzgerald. His father, who died shortly after Hurricane Katrina, was a shipping accountant; his mother, a professor at Loyola University. He has one sister. He was a student at New Orleans Academy from kindergarten through 7th grade. The Fitzgeralds were parishioners of St. Matthias Church on Broad Street. In 1971, he entered Jesuit as a pre-freshman, taking the bus to school for those first few years. In his senior year, Fitzgerald served as a copy editor of the Jesuit Annual (Yearbook), a member of the Prep Quiz Bowl Team, and secretary of the Christian Life Community. 
Raymond Richard Fitzgerald, Jr.
in his 1976 senior photo.
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A National Merit Finalist, Fitzgerald attended Loyola University and received a bachelor’s degree in classics and history in 1980. Three months later, he entered the Society of Jesus and studied at the Jesuits’ St. Charles College at Grand Coteau. In 1982, he professed his first vows as a Jesuit novice. He continued his studies at St. Louis University and earned a masters degree in history in 1984. He attended the Jesuits’ Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, MA and in 1990, was awarded a master of divinity degree. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest one year later at Spring Hill College. He professed his final vows as a Jesuit priest in 1999. Father Fitzgerald, whose Curriculum Vitae is posted on Jesuit’s web site, has spent most of his priestly career either as a teacher or administrator, and frequently both at the Jesuit high schools in New Orleans and Dallas. His longest stint at a school was 12 years, beginning in 1991 at Carrollton and Banks, where he taught Latin, Greek, English, and theology. During that time, he also served in administrative capacities, including co-director of campus ministry, chaplain, and director of records. From 2003-2007, Father Fitzgerald taught Latin and theology at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, while also serving as director of faculty spiritual development. Father Fitzgerald returned to New Orleans in 2007 to assume the responsibilities of the socius, or assistant provincial, under Father Lewis. He works out of the Province offices, located on Baronne Street, and resides with the other Jesuits on the fifth and sixth floors of the Banks Street residence. He currently serves on the boards of directors of a trio of Jesuit high schools — in Dallas, Tampa, and New Orleans. Father Fitzgerald was appointed last September to the New Orleans’ Board of Directors. Until the appointed time arrives for Father Fitzgerald to assume his new role, Father McGinn will remain Jesuit’s president. When Father McGinn’s term ends, he will have served for 19 consecutive years as the school’s chief executive officer, the longest tenure of any president in the school’s history. Interestingly, Father McGinn and Father Philip S. Postell ’56, who is president of Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, are recognized as the two longest serving presidents of any Jesuit high school in the country. Both Blue Jay priests began their presidencies in the 1992-93 school year, and they also will vacate their respective offices at the same time next year. “I wish to acknowledge particularly the great work of Father McGinn, whose wise and principled guidance continues to serve Jesuit and its families well. I find great encouragement in knowing
the Jesuits, faculty, and students now
at Carrollton and Banks. Their
example and spirit give me great hope for the future. Jesuit’s mission statement calls upon all in the school to foster
‘men of faith and men for others.’
I look forward to working with all
those connected to Jesuit to strive
for this goal.” Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J. |
Father McGinn’s next assignment has not yet been determined. But the final 17 months of his presidency promises to be as eventful and challenging as his first 17-plus years. He said he will use his extra year in office to oversee all of the facets of developing a new sports complex and field for Jesuit athletes, including raising approximately $4 million needed to build the facility. Jesuit recently acquired title to a 6.8 acre tract located adjacent to Airline Drive, just over the Orleans-Jefferson parish line and a five-minute drive from Jesuit.
“I am looking forward to the challenges of bringing this project to fruition during the next year and a half as it will become the first home field for many Jesuit athletic teams,” said Father McGinn, adding that 600 spectators will be accommodated in the stadium’s covered bleachers. “Our varsity and junior varsity baseball and soccer teams, and our junior varsity football team, will be able to practice and play their home games at this athletic complex. Our varsity football team will no longer have to ride around looking for a place to practice — for the first time they will have their own field on which to practice.” Father McGinn is credited with leading the intensive and extraordinary efforts to quickly clean up and repair significant water damage to Jesuit in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His commitment to Blue Jays and their parents, along with his dogged perseverance, enabled Jesuit to reopen its campus only 90 days after the storm. During this time, he orchestrated the openings of two satellite schools so that displaced Blue Jays were able to continue uninterrupted their Jesuit education.
The restoration project encompassed the school’s entire first floor, which had soaked in five and a half feet of water for two weeks. Extensive repairs were made to the auditorium, cafeteria, Student Commons, classrooms, offices, gym, and other areas of the school. The Katrina restoration project was completed in spring of 2007. 
At the 2008 Blue Jay Bazaar, Jesuit scholastic Mr. Aaron Pidel, S.J. (center) finds himself between two future presidents of Jesuit high schools — Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J. becomes the next president of Jesuit High School, New Orleans at the end of the 2010-11 school year.
Fr. Richard Hermes, S.J. currently serves as president of Jesuit High School in Tampa.
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