By CatholicPhilly Staff • Posted July 12, 2024

Kathy and Ward Fitzgerald will receive the St. Charles Borromeo Award, given by the Board of Trustees of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, the seminary announced July 9.

Archbishop Nelson Pérez will present the award to the couple on March 19, 2025 during a gala at the Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia. The distinction recognizes those who lead lives of deeply impactful service to others with humility.

“The Seminary is proud to honor Kathy and Ward Fitzgerald for their efforts in the local community, the Catholic community and beyond, setting an example of servant leadership for others to follow,” said Bishop Keith J. Chylinski, rector of the seminary.

“Like Saint Charles Borromeo, who lived a life of service and humility, the Fitzgeralds share their many talents and unwavering generosity for the betterment of our local and global community,” he added.

Ward Fitzgerald is the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Managing Principal of EQT Exeter, a global leader in real estate investment management with over 50 offices around the world. Prior to founding Exeter, Ward Fitzgerald was part of the senior management team at Rouse/Liberty Property Trust, a publicly traded office and industrial REIT, which he helped take public in 1994.

Kathy Fitzgerald, who is described as the matriarch of the family, is a talented artisan and visionary creator. Her most recent projects include the St. Denis Adoration Chapel in Havertown and the welcoming vestibule at the Inn of Amazing Mercy in Kensington.

As Philadelphia philanthropists, the couple are strong supporters of Project Home, the Papal Foundation, the National Center for Padre Pio, the Catholic Leadership Institute, the Institute for Real Estate and The Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, Franciscan University, and Jefferson University Hospital’s Neurology Department, the Raphael Center for Neurorestoration as well as other charitable endeavors.

“Kathy and I are humbled to serve the Church and Archdiocese,” said Ward Fitzgerald.

“Philadelphia is among the centers of the Catholic Church, holding the Providence as the only U.S. city to be home to two saints – St. Katharine Drexel and St. John Neumann,” Kathy Fitzgerald added.

“We are blessed to be vessels of the Church to help St. Charles Borromeo Seminary continue its mission of helping men called to be witnesses in the ministry of Jesus Christ to fortify their journey.”