Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald leads Salt Lake City Diocese until Pope Benedict names ninth bishop

Intermountain Catholic

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Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, (center) newly named Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, is surrounded by the diocesan consultors who elected him: Father Hernando Diaz, Father Joseph M. Mayo, Msgr. Robert R. Servatius, Father Colin Fr. Bircumshaw, and Msgr. Robert J. Bussen. The election took place in San Francisco, Calif.IC photo by Christopher Gray

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, for the past 11 years the vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, was elected diocesan administrator and will oversee the diocese until a new bishop is appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.

The six diocesan consultors elected Msgr. Fitzgerald immediately after the installation of Archbishop George Niederauer as the eighth archbishop of San Francisco Feb. 15.

Msgr. Fitzgerald has served as vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City twice, first from 1980 to 1982 under Bishop William K. Weigand, then from 1995 to 2006 under Bishop Niederauer. This will be Msgr. Fitzgerald’s second stint as diocesan administrator. He served in the same position from Jan. 27, 1994 until Bishop Niederauer was consecrated Jan. 24, 1995.

"I am gratified by the trust placed in me by my fellow consultors," Msgr. Fitzgerald told the Intermountain Catholic after the vote was taken in the rectory of St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in San Francisco. "We must all work together now to continue to move the diocese forward and to prepare for the appointment and the installation of our ninth bishop."

Msgr. Fitzgerald is a native of Utah. Born in 1936 in Salt Lake City, he was baptized in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He is a graduate of Judge Memorial Catholic High School. He studied for the priesthood at Mount Angel Seminary, and was ordained May 12, 1962, by the late Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal.

Msgr. Fitzgerald has served as pastor of a number of parishes including St. Patrick Parish, Salt Lake City; St. Marguerite Parish, Tooele; and St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Park City.

A gifted administrator, he has served as director of the diocesan Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) program, assistant superintendent of Catholic schools, and superintendent of Catholic schools. He was president-rector of Mount Angel Seminary from October 1984 to July 1, 1990, serving two terms. He served as director of the Diocesan Year of Evangelization and the Diocesan Centennial Observance. He was director of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and President/principal of Judge Memorial Catholic High School from 1991-1993.

He was elevated to Prelate of Honor and named a monsignor in December 1991. He received the Lumen Gentium Award, the highest award of honor from Mount Angel Seminary in 1996.

Msgr. Fitzgerald has served as defender of the bond on the Diocesan Tribunal for two six- year terms, and has served two five-year terms as a diocesan consultor. He was Diocesan Vocations Director in 2000, and a trustee of the Catholic Foundation of Utah from 2000-2002.

He was elevated to Supernumerary Protonotary Apostolic, the highest honor given a monsignor in 2002. From 1994-1998, Msgr. Fitzgerald also served as coordinator of the Skaggs Catholic Center project.

In addition to Msgr. Fitzgerald, the diocesan consultors include Father Colin Bircumshaw, pastor of St. Ann Parish, Salt Lake City; Msgr. Robert J. Bussen, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Park City; Father Hernando Diaz, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish, Richfield and the missions of Central Utah; Father Joseph M. Mayo, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; and Msgr. Robert R. Servatius, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Sandy