Three philanthropists remembered for support of Archdiocese of Baltimore causes

Three archdiocesan philanthropists, two of whom raised millions for the Partners in Excellence scholarship program and received awards for their charitable works, have died within days of each other.

Mark Fetting, 70, a former CEO of the Baltimore-based investment and asset management firm Legg Mason and a former chairman of the archdiocesan Board of Financial Administration, died Aug. 9 at a family gathering in New Hampshire. 

Michael J. Batza Jr., 83, who built successful careers in health care and real estate, died Aug. 20 at his home in Towson. 

Raymond A. “Chip” Mason, 88, the founder of Legg Mason, died Aug. 22 in Naples, Fla. Fetting had been Mason’s successor from 2008 to 2012.

Matt Anthony, senior director of engagement and giving for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, told the Catholic Review the deaths came “as a bit of a shock. These three men all played important roles in supporting the PIE scholarship program and Catholic education.”

Mason was the first chairman of the Partners in Excellence (PIE) board of advisers, and in 2016, he received the Cardinal William H. Keeler Partners in Excellence Award, given to individuals who advance the mission of transforming lives and communities through Catholic education through the PIE program.

In 2015, Batza, the chairman and CEO of Heritage Properties, received the same honor when it was called the St. Thomas Aquinas Partners in Excellence Award. At that time, he and his wife Pattie had funded about 500 PIE scholarships for children attending Catholic schools.

The program, founded in 1996 by the late Cardinal Keeler, has provided more than 25,000 scholarships totaling more than $29 million to disadvantaged youth. Recipients are 96 percent non-white, and 79 percent are non-Catholic.

Batza and his wife also supported Sisters of Mercy ministries – Mercy High School, Mercy Medical Center, Mercy Ridge and Marian House. At Mercy High School, they donated to the construction of the Sisters of Mercy Athletic Complex and the school’s current capital campaign.

At St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park, he chaired the committee on buildings and grounds when it oversaw a $9 million library expansion. In 2008, St. Mary’s awarded him an honorary doctor of divinity degree.

In the mid-1990s, Batza chaired the archdiocesan Heritage of Hope capital campaign, which raised more than $142 million.

Born in Shelton, Conn., Nov. 27, 1941, Batza graduated from Colgate University in 1963 and served in the Air Force Reserve. After working for Connecticut General Insurance, he and Earl Linehan co-founded Med-Services, Ltd, in Baltimore, which became Meridian Healthcare and was sold to Genesis Health Ventures in 1993. He stayed involved in Heritage Properties until his death. 

Batza served on the boards of St. Mary’s Seminary, Notre Dame University of Maryland and Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson.

He also served on the archdiocesan finance council as vice chairman.

In 1996, he was named a Knight of St. Gregory by Pope St. John Paul II. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI upgraded that title to Knight Commander of St. Gregory.

In addition to his wife, Batza’s survivors include daughters Michelle Batza Railey (Jim), Maureen Batza Morris (Chris), and Meggan Batza Brennan (Mark); brother John Batza; sister Barbara Tonelli; and six grandchildren

Visitation will be held at Ruck Towson Funeral Home Sept. 12, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Seminary.

Mason, born in Lynchburg, Va., Sept. 28, 1936, moved with his family to Bethlehem, Pa., after his father died in 1943. He attended parish schools there and rode a trolley to attend Allentown Central Catholic High School. He graduated from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., in 1959 before going to work for his uncle’s brokerage in Lynchburg. He founded his own firm, Mason & Co., in 1962. 

Through acquisitions, it grew into Legg Mason, one of the largest employers in Baltimore with, at its peak, $830 billion in assets. A $3.7 billion asset swap with Citigroup in 2005 doubled the firm’s money and made it the fifth-largest money manager in the United States. In 2020, the firm was acquired by Franklin Templeton.

Mason helped establish the business school at William & Mary, and the school was named after him in 2005.

He was active in civic affairs, and chaired the board of trustees at the Johns Hopkins University, the Greater Baltimore Committee and United Way of Central Maryland. He also sat on the boards of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the U.S. National Aquarium.

Mason is survived by his wife, Rand, and his children and stepchildren, Carter, Morgan, Paige, Pamela, Pike and Hayward, according to the William & Mary, which announced his death.

Fetting was born Nov. 23, 1954, in Baltimore to John and Mary Fetting, one of five children.

His father operated the jewelry store A.H. Fetting, and his mother was a psychotherapist.

He was a graduate of the Gilman School and interrupted his studies at Trinity College to help run the jewelry business after his father suffered a stroke. He eventually got a degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

His civic activities included work with the Baltimore Community Foundation and serving as a board member of Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Mercy Sister Helen Amos, the board chairwoman, praised Fetting, in a statement, for his “unwavering commitment to the underserved.” 

He is survived by wife, Georgie, sons Conor and Noel, daughter Carey and five grandchildren.

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