Msgr. James Fetscher, 84

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

MIAMI | Msgr. James Fetscher died on Aug. 16, due to respiratory issues at the Catholic Hospice at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. He was 84.

He was pastor of St. Louis Church in Pinecrest for 28 years and St. Sebastian Church in Fort Lauderdale for 13 years. He served as an archdiocesan priest for 57 years.

“He was very warm and inviting. He would make everybody feel at home. Very loving as a pastor,” said Deacon Mark Westman of St. Louis Parish.

Deacon Westman recalled something that was very characteristic of Monsignor Fetscher. “He would say that all the time, including after each one of his homilies. He would always put his index finger and his thumb together, and he'd raise his hand and  look at everybody and say, ‘Capisci’ like, ‘Do you understand what I just told you?’ And everybody would repeat back, ‘Yes’”, said the deacon.

Deacon Westman met Msgr. Fetscher when he moved from Dallas to Miami in 2000.

“Msgr. Fetscher was a very good pastor, a very good shepherd of souls in St. Louis and many people loved him very much,” said Deacon Westman.

He recalled that in 2010, Msgr. Fetscher went to West Palm Beach to anoint him and give him the Eucharist after he was admitted to the hospital for a ruptured aneurysm.

Deacon Westman credits Msgr. Fetscher with encouraging him to pursue his vocation to the diaconate in 2010. “He was instrumental in guiding me,” he said. Several other people in St. Louis also encouraged him to apply. “But Father Fetscher was kind of the architect behind the scenes.”

 

HE BUILT A COMMUNITY

Msgr. Fetscher became the pastor of St. Louis in October 1982.

In 1986, the parish constructed a new building housing a library, gift shop, conference room, and several classrooms. The old family center was expanded and renovated to include a new kitchen.

In 1997, St. Louis Covenant School opened, and construction began on a new school building, which was blessed in 2001.

The effort was led by the St. Louis Parish community, supported by the first principal, Chris Mathisen. Deacon Westman said that “Msgr. Fetscher was the main person that was pushing and raising money and doing other things, encouraging people to get involved to help fund and found that school.”

“My two kids graduated from there, the first and second graduating classes at St. Louis, so now my grandson's getting ready to start maybe in a year and a half,” the deacon added.

The first graduating class of St. Louis Covenant School was in 2005.

"My oldest daughter started pre-K in 2002. At that time, the school went up to fourth grade," said Monica Tirado, a St. Louis parishioner since 2001, when she moved from Puerto Rico.

"This school and this parish became my family and my children's family. It became everyone else's family, too. All the families in St. Louis at that time became one family because of Father Fetscher,” said Tirado, whose four children graduated from St. Louis School.

Msgr. Fetscher's vision was for parents to be part of the school and the church. He wanted parents to be "truly committed to growing spiritually as parents for their children," Tirado said.

"Father Fetscher has been very special to my family and to all of us who were there at that time," added Tirado.

In 2016, a gym named after Msgr. Fetscher was inaugurated, and he attended the blessing celebrated by Archbishop Wenski.

"That gym is full of trophies and mementos from the kids at St. Louis School," said Deacon Westman.

On one wall of the gym is a saying by Msgr. Fetscher that pays tribute to him: “You are loved unconditionally, you are forgiven completely, you are never alone.”

At St. Louis Church, Msgr. Fetscher "lived for his parish. He lived for the people. He lived for the children because he was very kind to them. I know he is very close to God and the Virgin Mary," said Mildred Ratcliffe, director of religious education who has been a parishioner for more than 16 years.

"When you confessed to him, you came out feeling truly renewed. He had a good sense of humor—a very good sense of humor,” she added.

Msgr. Fetscher “was a brilliant person, and his homilies were incredible,” said Tirado adding that during his homilies, Msgr. Fetscher “explained what was happening historically, socially, politically, and culturally at the time of the readings. Then, he presented the teachings of faith and the Bible, making it like a class. I will remember him with great love. He was very funny," she said.

In September 2010, Monsignor Fetscher was appointed pastor of St. Sebastian Church, where he remained until retiring from the priesthood in 2023.

“He was a kind, generous, holy priest, with a wonderful sense of humor,” said Anne Gardner, who was his pastoral assistant at St. Sebastian until his retirement. She added, “He always had a way of bringing out the best in people, of seeing their gifts and talents.”

Gardner also recalled Msgr. Fetscher’s “Capisci” after his homilies.

During his time at St. Sebastian, “he was always very joyful, a beautiful sense of gratitude, and he absolutely loved being a priest. It was the joy of his life to be able to serve his people,” said Gardner.

He created an outdoor shrine dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea, featuring a mosaic on the north side of the church.

He also built new bathrooms and a bridal area inside the church. His last project, which he had just begun when he retired, was a new kitchen in the parish hall. Msgr. Fetscher returned for the kitchen's inauguration.

Jack Averall, Msgr. Fetscher friend of more than 50 years, said, “He considered his life as a priest in the service of the Lord and his people his greatest joy — faithfully lived out in love for the poor, his daily rosary, always witnessing with gratitude, the love of his family that nurtured his vocation, the Church, her people, and his brother priests, all working together for the glory of God who is all good.”

Msgr. Fetscher “loved to cook, and we always had wonderful attendance at our pastoral council meetings, because after the meeting, we would all sit down to a dinner that Monsignor had prepared and enjoy the fellowship,” Averall said.

He concluded, "He was a dear friend, and as painful as his loss is, I'm happy that he is with the Lord when he served so very well."

Mons. Fetscher was born in New York but grew up in Holy Family Parish in North Miami. He was ordained May 25, 1968, for the Archdiocese of Miami. He served in the religious education department from 1969 to 1971 and became founding director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship from 1978 to 1984.

He served as parochial vicar at St. Mark in Boynton Beach, Visitation Church in North Miami, teacher at Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, member of the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, parochial vicar at St. Lawrence Church in North Miami Beach and associate rector at St. Mary Cathedral in Miami.

From 1976 to 1980 he served as parochial vicar at St. Louis Church in Pinecrest, where he would return as pastor in 1982. He remained at St. Louis until September 2010, when he was named pastor of St. Sebastian.

In 2013 he was elevated to the rank of monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI.

Monsignor Fetscher is survived by six siblings, as well as several nephews and nieces.

 

FUNERAL SERVICES

• The funeral Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, at 11 a.m., at St. Sebastian Church, 2000 Marietta Dr. Fort Lauderdale. A viewing and a prayer service will precede the Mass from 9-11 a.m.
• Burial will follow at Caballero Rivero Dade North Cemetery, 1301 NW Opa Locka Blvd., Miami, beside his parents and grandmother.

Msgr. Fetscher, Monsignor’s family and friends would like to express their gratitude to Catholic Health Services, St. Anthony's Rehab Hospital, St. John's Nursing Center and their loving staff, as well as Holy Cross Hospital and Catholic Hospice.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in Memory of Msgr. Fetcher may do so to the following:

• St. Sebastian Parish, 2000 SE 25 Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.
• St. Louis Covenant School, 7270 SW 120 Street, Pinecrest.
• Morningstar Renewal Center, 7275 SW 124 Street, Pinecrest.