Duane Garrison Hunt

The Most Reverend Duane Garrison Hunt
Bishop of Salt Lake City
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Salt Lake City
Appointed	6 August 1937
In office	1937-1960
Predecessor	James Edward Kearney
Successor	Joseph Lennox Federal
Orders
Ordination	27 June 1920
Consecration	28 October 1937
Personal details
Born	(1884-09-19)September 19, 1884 Reynolds, Nebraska, USA
Died
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic

Styles of Duane Hunt
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	none

Duane Garrison Hunt (September 19, 1884—March 31, 1960) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Salt Lake City from 1937 until his death in 1960.

Early life and education

Raised in a Methodist family, Duane Hunt was born in Reynolds, Nebraska, to Andrew Dixon and Lodema Esther (née Garrison) Hunt. He attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907. He then taught at public high schools in Iowa until 1911, when he enrolled at the University of Iowa Law School. However, his poor eyesight forced him to withdraw from law school the following year.

Hunt then entered the graduate school at the University of Chicago in the field of public speaking. During his studies, he began to examine and question Methodism, which he eventually abandoned. He decided to convert to Catholicism, and was baptized at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Chicago in 1913. Shortly after his graduation from the University of Chicago, he moved to Salt Lake City, where he served as a faculty member of the speech department at the University of Utah from 1913 to 1916. He then resigned from his teaching post in order to study for the priesthood. He studied at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California, from 1916 to 1920.

Priesthood

On June 27, 1920, Hunt was ordained a priest by Bishop Joseph Sarsfield Glass in the Cathedral of the Madeleine. He worked as a missionary in Vernal for eight months before becoming a curate at the cathedral, where also served as director of the choir from 1923 to 1937. He was named a papal chamberlain in December 1924, and raised to the rank of domestic prelate in April 1930. He became rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in 1925 and chancellor of the Diocese of Salt Lake City in 1926. He also served as vicar general of the diocese.

From 1927 to 1949, Hunt was the weekly speaker on NBC's "Catholic Hour," a radio program in which he discussed Catholic doctrine. He served as editor of the diocesan newspaper, The Intermountain Catholic, from 1926 to 1934. Despite his poor eyesight, he ranked among the best tennis players in Utah and coached the first diocesan baseball league in 1928.

Episcopacy

On August 6, 1937, Hunt was appointed the fifth Bishop of Salt Lake City by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 28 from Archbishop John Joseph Mitty, with Bishops Robert John Armstrong and Thomas Kiely Gorman serving as co-consecrators. He was the first Methodist convert to become a Catholic bishop.

During his tenure, Hunt established fifteen parishes throughout the state. He also invited such religious institutes as the Carmelites, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and Trappists to serve in Utah. An intelligent apologist, he authored several defenses of the Catholic Church, including The Continuity of the Catholic Church, which refuted Mormon claims against the Church.

Hunt died from a heart ailment at the age of 75. His funeral was attended by LDS Church president McKay.

References

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by James Edward Kearney	Bishop of Salt Lake City 1937– 1960	Succeeded by Joseph Lennox Federal