Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Urban Federer (born 17 August 1968) is a Swiss prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. A member of the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

, he is the current Abbot of

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...

and Fahr Convent. Prior to serving as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

, Federer was the

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

and

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of Einsielden Abbey and the editor-in-chief of ''Salve'', the abbey's official magazine. In 2017, he was made a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

Early life and family

Urban Federer was born in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

on 17 August 1968. He is a member of the

Federer family The Federer family is an old Swiss family that is part of the bourgeoisie of Berneck, St. Gallen. The family originated in the 5th century and rose to prominence in the Middle Ages, with members holding local government offices under the Prince- ...

, who are part of the

Bürgergemeinde The Bürgergemeinde (also Burgergemeinde, Ortsgemeinde, Ortsbürgergemeinde, Tagwen, bourgeoisie, commune bourgeoise, vischnanca burgaisa, en, Citizen's Community) is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland. It includes all individu ...

Berneck, St. Gallen Berneck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Berneck is first mentioned in 892 as ''Farniwang''. In 1210 it was mentioned as ''Bernanc''. Coat of arms The blazon o ...

, and is the brother of the Swiss politician

Barbara Schmid-Federer Barbara Schmid-Federer (born 10 November 1965) is a Swiss politician, educator, and philanthropist. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland, she was elected to a seat in the National Council in 2007, serving until 2018. ...

. He is the great-great-grandson of the politician

Josef Zemp Josef Zemp (2 September 1834, in Entlebuch – 8 December 1908) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1891–1908). On 17 December 1891, he was the first member of a conservative party to be elected to the Federal Counci ...

, who was the first member of a conservative party to be elected to the

Federal Council of Switzerland The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

. He is also related to the politician Ida Glanzmann-Hunkeler, the Catholic priest

Heinrich Federer Heinrich Federer (6 October 1866 – 29 April 1928) was a Swiss writer and Catholic priest. Biography Federer was born on 6 October 1866 in the Bernese village of Brienz. His father, Johann Paul Federer, was a wood carver and school teache ...

, and former tennis player

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

, the latter whose children he baptized.

Ecclesiastical career

Federer attended the Einsiedeln Convent School and

Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is a Roman Catholic seminary and school of theology in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. It is affiliated with the Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. The institution was named after Meinrad ...

from 1985 to 1988 before joining the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and beginning his novitiate at

. He made his final vows on 1 November 1992 and received the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

of holy orders on 11 June 1994. He studied philosophy and theology at the abbey's theological home school and completed a licentiate degree in German studies and history at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius ...

. He also completed

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

training in Germany. In 2001, Federer worked as a religion, German language, and history teacher at the abbey's grammar school. In 2007 he received his doctorate with a dissertation in medieval German studies on mystical experience in literary dialogue between

Heinrich von Nördlingen Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

and

Margaretha Ebner Margareta Ebner (1291 – 20 June 1351) was a German professed religious from the Dominican Nuns. Ebner – from 1311 – experienced a series of spiritual visions in which Jesus Christ gave her messages which she recorded in letters and a jou ...

in the 14th century. In 2010, Federer was appointed as

and Vicar General of Einsieldeln Abbey. He was made editor-in-chief of the abbey's magazine, ''Salve'', and a board member of the Einsiedler Welttheater-Gesellschaft. He is also a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

and the choral master. He was elected as

on 23 November 2013 by fifty-five voting monks.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

confirmed his election on 10 December 2013. His inauguration took place on 22 December 2013, performed by Bishop

Markus Büchel Markus Büchel (14 May 1959 – 9 July 2013) was a former head of government of Liechtenstein. Prime Minister of Liechtenstein Büchel was in office as Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from May to December 1993. He won the elections in 1993 as a ...

. As abbot, he is also a member of the Swiss Bishops' Conference and has jurisdiction over Fahr Convent. In 2017, Federer was appointed as a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jersulaem by Cardinal

Edwin Frederick O'Brien Edwin Frederick O'Brien (born April 8, 1939) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2012 and headed the Order of the Holy Sepulchre from 2011 to 2019. O'Brien served as archbishop of the Archdiocese o ...

and was invested into the order on 18 March 2017 at

Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a c ...

by Bishop Pier Giacomo Grampa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Federer, Urban Living people 1968 births 20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests Benedictine priors Choristers

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

Knights of the Holy Sepulchre People from Zürich Swiss abbots Swiss Benedictines Swiss magazine editors University of Fribourg alumni