He was admitted on July 30, 1938 to the novitiate of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.

He completed his education with a Licentiate of Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 1957.

In 1971, Fitzmyer joined the faculty of Fordham University to teach New Testament and biblical languages.

Fitzmyer served as the speaker's lecturer at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1975.

He was the 1984 recipient of the Burkitt Medal of the British Academy and was a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1984 to 1995.

[5] John Martens told the magazine America that Fitzmyer was: a giant of biblical scholarship.

[7] Fitzmyer's publications covered Scripture, theology, Christology, catechesis, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It also includes work on The Gospel of Luke (in two volumes), Acts of the Apostles, 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Philemon.