Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City

Updated on Sep 19, 2024

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Country United States Metropolitan San Francisco Denomination Roman Catholic Phone +1 801-328-8641		Territory State of Utah Parishes 48 Area 220,123 km²

Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2014)2,900,872291,000 (10%) Address 27 C St E, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, USA Cathedral Cathedral of the Madeleine Ecclesiastical province Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco Profiles Facebook

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, officially, in Latin, Dioecesis Civitatis Lacus Salsi, is a Latin diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.

Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. On January 10, 2017 His Holiness, Pope Francis appointed the Most Reverend Oscar Azarcon Solis, up until then Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the 10th Bishop of this Roman Catholic Diocese.

Salt Lake City is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, along with the dioceses of Honolulu (Hawaii), Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton. The Metropolitan is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

Statistics and extent

As per 2014, it pastorally served 291,000 Catholics (10.0% of 2,900,872 total) on 219,887 km² in 48 parishes with 69 priests (62 diocesan, 7 religious), 75 deacons, 43 lay religious (14 brothers, 29 sisters) and 7 seminarians.

It comprises the entire state of Utah. Also known as the Utah Catholic Church or the See of Salt Lake City.

History

In 1871 Fr. Patrick Walsh built the first Catholic Church in Utah, dedicating it to St. Mary Magdalene. Father (later Bishop) Lawrence Scanlan arrived in 1873 to become pastor. He took care of the Catholic military men, immigrant miners and railroad workers who numbered in the hundreds. Small churches, schools, an orphanage and a hospital were built, staffed by clergy and by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, to serve the growing Catholic population. As the nineteenth century came to a close, the Catholic community in Salt Lake City was rapidly outgrowing the small church of St. Mary Magdalene.

In 1887 the Church in Utah became the Apostolic Vicariate of Utah, on territory split off from its Metropolitan, the Archdiocese of San Francisco, entitle to a titular bishop. Bishop Lawrence Scanlan was the first Catholic bishop of Utah. Ground was broken for the new church in 1899. Construction for the Cathedral of the Madeleine would last nearly a decade, costing a small fortune for the estimated 3,000 Catholics in Utah at the turn of the century. Assistance was obtained from Catholic Mission Societies.

On 1891.01.27 it was promoted as the Diocese of Salt Lake / Lacus Salsi (Latin).

On 1931.03.27 it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Reno, in the same province.

On 1951.03.31 it was renamed as Diocese of Salt Lake City / Civitatis Lacus Salsi (Latin)

Episcopal Ordinaries

The following are the lists of bishops and auxiliary bishops of the diocese and their dates of service.

Apostolic Vicar of Salt Lake

Lawrence Scanlan (born Ireland, UK) (?1886.11.23 – ?1891.01.30 see below), Titular Bishop of Laranda (1887.01.25 – 1891.01.30)

Suffragan Bishops of Salt Lake

Lawrence Scanlan (see above ? November 23, 1886 – death May 10, 1915)
Joseph Sarsfield Glass, Lazarists (C.M.) (June 1, 1915 – death January 26, 1926)
John Joseph Mitty (June 21, 1926 – January 29, 1932), next Titular Archbishop of Ægina (1932.01.29 – 1935.03.02) as Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Archdiocese of San Francisco (1935.03.02 – death 1961.10.15)
James Edward Kearney (July 1, 1932 – July 31, 1937), next Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester (1937.07.31 – retired 1966.10.21), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Tabaicara (1966.10.21 – resigned 1971.01.18); died 1977
Duane Garrison Hunt (August 6, 1937 – 31 March 1951 see below)

Suffragan Bishops of Salt Lake City

Duane Garrison Hunt (see above 31 March 1951 – death March 31, 1960)
1. Auxiliary Bishop Leo John Steck (1948.03.13 – death 1950.06.19), Titular Bishop of Ilium (1948.03.13 – 1950.06.19)
Joseph Lennox Federal (March 31, 1960 – retired April 22, 1980), died 2000; previously Titular Bishop of Appiaria (1951.02.05 – 1960.03.31), first as Auxiliary Bishop of Salt Lake City (1951.02.05 – 1958.05.01), then as Coadjutor Bishop of Salt Lake City (1958.05.01 – succession 1960.03.31)
William Kenneth Weigand (September 9, 1980 – November 30, 1993), next Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento (1993.11.30 – retired 2008.11.29)
George Hugh Niederauer (November 3, 1994 – December 15, 2005), next Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco (2005.12.15 – retired 2012.07.27)
John Charles Wester (January 8, 2007 – April 27, 2015), next Metropolitan Archbishop Santa Fe (2015.04.27 – ...); previously Titular Bishop of Lamiggiga (1998.06.30 – 2007.01.08) as Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco (1998.06.30 – 2007.01.08), Apostolic Administrator of San Francisco (2005.05.13 – 2005.12.15)
Oscar Azarcon Solis (born Philippines) (January 10, 2017 – ...), previously Titular Bishop of Urci (2003.12.11 – 2017.01.10) as Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles (USA) (2003.12.11 – 2017.01.10).