Freking was born in Heron Lake, Minnesota, one of nineteen children of August and Rosa (née Oberbroeckling) Freking.[1] He received his early education at the parochial school of Sacred Heart Parish, and then attended Heron Lake Public High School.[2]
Freking attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome from 1962 through 1965.[3] As bishop of Salina, he established seven new churches, eleven new convents, four new high schools, and seven new grade schools.[3] He also expanded the diocesan Charity and Religion Fund to assist the parishes in financing their construction and renovation projects.[1]
Bishop of La Crosse
On December 30, 1964, Freking was appointed the sixth bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse by Pope Paul VI.[4] He was installed on February 24, 1965.[4] From 1964 to 1966, he headed the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.[3] During his tenure in La Crosse, he reduced the diocese's debt from $11 million to $4 million between 1965 and 1981.[3] He established a diocesan commission on Christian renewal in 1965, and the first lay ministry training program in the United States in 1975.[3]
Freking also oversaw construction of 14 churches, 15 rectories, seven elementary schools, 22 religious education centers, five convents and the Newman Center. Freking also supervised 36 church renovations and expansions, and 59 priests were ordained while he was bishop. He was instrumental in the founding of the Bethany-St. Joseph Care Center for the elderly by the diocese and the Lutheran Church in La Crosse.
On May 10, 1983, Pope John Paul II accepted Freking's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse.[4] Frederick Freking, who long suffered from respiratory problems, died from complications of emphysema at the Franciscan Skemp Medical Center in La Crosse at age 85.[5]
