NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Rev. Donald Gordon Fetters, C.S.C., 75, died at Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Indiana, on Sunday, March 31, 2024, after a short illness.
Rev. Donald G. Fetters, C.S.C., was born in South Bend, Indiana, on April 14, 1948, to Gerald and Virginia (Schreiber) Fetters and is one of six children. After attending school at St. Matthew’s and Riley High School, he entered the Holy Cross High School Seminary at Notre Dame in 1964 and graduated in 1966. He entered the Novitiate in Bennington, Vermont, on July 17, 1967, and pronounced his first vows the next year. He returned to the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in government. After two years of teaching at Notre Dame High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he returned to Moreau Seminary and earned his graduate degree in theology in 1976. He was ordained a Holy Cross priest on September 4, 1976, in Sacred Heart Church on the University of Notre Dame campus.
From 1976-1980, Fr. Fetters was assigned to teach at Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona, before serving there as principal for the next four years until 1984. During this time, he studied Educational Administration at the University of San Francisco and earned his master’s degree in 1983. From 1984-1987, he served as Assistant Superior of Moreau Seminary. Beginning in 1987, he assisted the District of Chile for three years before being assigned Rector at St. George’s College in Santiago, Chile, from 1990-1995. In 1995, he served as Superior at Holy Cross Center and Bay Area in Berkeley, California, before serving as President of Hogar San Jose, an orphanage in Talagante, Chile, from 1997-2007. From 2001-2007, he served as District Superior of the District of Chile before serving as Novice Director at Holy Cross Novitiate in Huaycán, Lima Peru from 2008-2013. Beginning in 2013, Fr. Fetters served as Assistant Superior of the District of Peru for the next two years. Beginning in 2015, he served as an Associate Pastor of Parroquia Nuestra Madré Santisima de la Luz in Mexico for one year and Assistant Director of C.S.C Formation House in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico for four years. In 2019, Fr. Fetters moved back to the United States to reside at Notre Dame, Indiana.
Preceding Fr. Fetters in death are his father, Gerald Fetters; baby sister, Sharon Fetters; and brothers, Roy Fetters and P. Michael Fetters. He is survived by his mother, Virginia Fetters; sister, Jeanette Fetters; brother, Lawrence Fetters, and many beloved nieces and nephews. Visitation will be from 3:30-7:30 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 8, 2024, at Moreau Seminary, Notre Dame, Indiana, followed by a Wake Service at 7:30 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Indiana. You may also join us via livestream at https://funerals.holycrossusa.org
Burial will be in the community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorial contributions in support of the mission and ministries of the Congregation of Holy Cross can be made to: United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Office of Advancement, P.O. Box 765, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0765 or online at https://donate.holycrossusa.org
