1910-2000
SALT LAKE CITY-- Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal, retired sixth bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, died at 6:45 p.m., Aug. 31, 2000 at St. Joseph Villa in Salt Lake City. He was 90 years old.
Born Jan. 13, 1910, in Greensboro, North Carolina, Bishop Federal was the third of eight children of Margaret Keegan and Howard Charles Federal. He studied for the Catholic priesthood at the Albertinium, the University of Friborg in Switzerland, and at the North American College in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood Dec. 8, 1934, in Rome,, where he earned a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1935. From 1935 to 1951, he served in parishes in Greenville and Swannanoa, N.C. In 1942 he was named a papal chamberlain to Pope Pius XII, with the title Very Reverend Monsignor.
On Feb. 5, 1951, shortly after being named rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, N.C., he was named auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He was the first native of the Diocese of Raleigh to be named to the American hierarchy. On April 11 of the same year, he was consecrated a bishop for the Diocese of Salt Lake City and titular bishop of Arriaria, Italy, in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Amleto G. Cicognani, apostolic delegate to the United States. He was 42 years old at the time.
Bishop Federal arrived in Salt Lake City April 21, 1951, where he was met by then-bishop Duane G. Hunt. Two months later, he was awarded on Honorary Doctor of Law degree by Niagara University.
From 1952-1960, Bishop Federal served as rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. In 1958, he was named coadjutor bishop of Salt Lake City with the right of succession. The same year he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree by the University of Portland, in Portland, Ore. In 1959, Bishop Federal celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood.
Upon the death of Bishop Hunt March 31, 1960, Bishop Federal succeeded to the See of Salt Lake City and for 20 years oversaw the development of the Church in Utah, especially the implementations of Vatican II.
He was one of the last bishops to have participated as a bishop in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
As bishop, he was a builder. He laid the cornerstone of St. Jerome's Chapel, now St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Newman Center, Logan; directed the building of the new Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Salt Lake City; and broke ground for St. Ambrose Church, St. Ann Church, and Our Lady of Lourdes School, all in Salt Lake City, and St. Vincent de Paul Church, Holladay.
In 1966, Bishop Federal inaugurated the diocese's annual Diocesan Development Drive which provides funding for the ministry and growth of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. He established parishes in South Ogden, West Jordan, West Valley City, Sandy, the Newman Center at Weber State University, St. Michael the Archangel Mission, Green River, St. Lawrence Mission, Heber, and St. Peter Mission (now Parish) in American Fork.
In 1975, Bishop Federal began the extensive renovation of the exterior of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The following year he ordained 14 Utah married men to the diaconate in the first ceremony of its kind in the history of the diocese. He also was instrumental in the establishment of Birthright of Utah, a non-profit organization that meets the needs of pregnant women.
In 1976, Bishop Federal
presided over a solemn Eucharistic Celebration in the Salt Palace. The event honored the bicentennials of the expeditions of Franciscan Friars Francisco Antanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante into Utah and the United States of America. Some 14,000 people participated in the historic gathering.
Bishop Federal retired April 22, 1980, serving as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City until Nov. 17, 1980, when his successor, Bishop William K. Weigand (currently Bishop of Sacramento, Calif.) arrived.
Bishop Federal is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Celestine Noonan, Philadelphia, Penn., Sister Enrica Federal, D.C., Emmitsburg, Md., and Lillian (Sissy) Madden, Gibsborrow, N.J., and two brothers, Robert Keegan Federal, Charlotte, N.C., and William Aubrey Federal, Charlotte, N.C., as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated for Bishop Federal Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m., in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 East South Temple. His body will be received at the Cathedral on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m., with viewing until the vigil service at 7 p.m. Committal: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Salt Lake City.
Funeral directors: Neil O'Donnell and Sons, Salt Lake City.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity fund at Christus St. Joseph Villa, 451 Bishop Federal Lane, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115.