Joseph Gregory Vath (March 12, 1918 – July 14, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama from 1969 to 1987. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham in Alabama from 1966 to 1969.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Vath was born on March 12, 1918, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood for the

Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferson ...

by Archbishop

Joseph Francis Rummel Joseph Francis Rummel (October 14, 1876 – November 8, 1964) was a German-born American Catholic prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Omaha in Nebraska from 1928 to 1935 and as archbishop of the Archdi ...

on June 7, 1941. Vath was appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham and titular bishop of Novaliciana on March 4, 1966, by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. Vath was consecrated on May 26, 1966 by Cardinal

Egidio Vagnozzi Egidio Vagnozzi (26 February 1906 – 26 December 1980) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to ...

Bishop of Birmingham

Vath was appointed Bishop of Birmingham in Alabama, on September 29, 1969, by Paul VI. At that time, the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham was split into the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and the Diocese of Mobile. In the 1980's, after the Catholic priest

Edward Markley Edward Markley (September 5, 1939 - January 14, 2019) was an American Catholic Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation ...

caused damage to an clinic providing abortion services, Vath issued a statement supportive of Markley. He stated that "If we are convinced that abortion is the taking of innocent life according to God’s revealed word, he is not acting unjustly according to God’s law in defending the innocent unborn one...The right to life certainly supersedes the right to property or to privacy." Joseph Vath died in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, on July 14, 1987, at age 69.

References

Episcopal succession

1918 births 1987 deaths Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Bishops in Alabama {{US-RC-bishop-stub