Bishop Leonard Hatfield
Bishop Leonard Fraser Hatfield
Bishop Leonard Fraser Hatfield, former bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and author of a book about an Inuit priest, died in September. He was 81.
A native of Port Greville, N.S., Bishop Hatfield earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of King’s College, Halifax. He was ordained a priest in 1943 and served at All Saints’ Cathedral, Halifax and at churches in Antigonish, Dartmouth and Truro, N.S. He was awarded honorary doctor of divinity degrees in 1956 from King’s and from the Atlantic School of Theology in 1985.
He worked in Toronto for 10 years, starting in 1951, the last six as general secretary of the Council for Social Service of the national church. He was also instrumental in starting the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund in 1959.
He was consecrated suffragan bishop in the diocese and installed as diocesan bishop in 1980 and retired in 1984.
Bishop Hatfield was the author of Simon Gibbons: First Eskimo Priest and of Sammy The Prince, a study of one of Canada’s foremost sociologists, Dr. Samuel Prince.
A service of thanksgiving for Bishop Hatfield’s life was scheduled for 1 p.m. on Nov. 15, at St. Simon-the-Apostle church, Toronto.
