🠈 Catholic Church in Utah 🠊
The first Catholic Missionaries in Utah were the Spanish Explorers Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante who ventured from Sante Fe, which was then part of Mexico, in 1776. Dominquez-Escalante expedition established the Spanish Trail through Utah which included a variety of trading posts.
The modern Diocese serving Utah was established as part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco after the Mexican/American War which ceded the area from Mexico to the United States.
The first Roman Catholic Church in Utah was built by Father Patrick Walsh in 1871 named for St. Mary Magdalene. Father Scanlan became the pastor of this first parish in 1873. Under Scanlan's tutelage the church became an "Apostolic Vicariate" in 1887, and a full Diocese in 1891 in the lead up to Utah's becoming a State in 1896.
The Roman name for the Diocese is Dioecesis Civitatis Lacus Salsi. The English name is Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.
The central church for the Diocese is The Cathedral of the Madeleine on South Temple in Salt Lake City. Construction on this Neo-Romanesque building started in 1900 and was completed in 1909.
The following table shows the names of Bishops of the Diocese. If you mouse over the word "move"; you should see a box saying where they moved to.
| Years | Yrs | Name | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1886-1915 | 29 | Lawrence Scanlan | died |
| 1915-1926 | 11 | Joseph Sarsfield Glass | died |
| 1926-1932 | 6 | John Joseph Mitty | moved |
| 1932-1937 | 5 | James Edward Kearney | moved |
| 1937-1960 | 23 | Duane Garrison Hunt | died |
| 1960-1980 | 20 | Joseph Lennox Federal | retired |
| 1980-1993 | 13 | William Kenneth Weigand | moved |
| 1994-2005 | 11 | George Hugh Niederauer | moved |
| 2007-2015 | 8 | John Charles Wester | moved |
| 2017- | NA | Oscar Azarcon Solis | N/A |
The Parish guide on the Diocesan site lists 46 churches along with a dozen centers and missions.
As of 2017, the Roman Catholic Church has 145 territorial diocese grouped in 32 archdiocese. Utah is part of the Diocese of San Francisco which includes the Diocese of Honolulu, The Diocese of Las Vegas, The Diocese of Oakland, The Diocese of Reno, The Diocese of Sacramento, The Diocese of Salt Lake City, The Diocese of San Jose, The Diocese of San Jose, The Diocese of Santa Rosa and The Diocese of Stockton.
References:
- Wikipedia - Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake (Drawn 3/7/2017)
- Wikipedia - Cathedral of the Madelieine (Drawn 3/7/2017)