Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota (1875 to 1889)[1]
The first mass in the St. Cloud area was offered by Francis de Vivaldi, a missionary to the Winnebago reservation in Long Prairie in 1851. The mass took place inside a log cabin owned by James Keough.[2] Keough later recalled,
The congregation present was made up of Irish and French Canadians. The altar was prepared by a half-breed (sic) lady, the wife of a Canadian Frenchman. I am the owner of the table used as an altar on that occasion. Some time after this Father Pierz came among us, and subsequently built the first Catholic church at Sauk Rapids.[2]
In 1852, Bishop Joseph Crétin of Saint Paul sent Francis Xavier Pierz to the Ojibwe Nation (Chippewa), charging the priest with an apostolate in central and northern Minnesota with a large Native American congregation. Wanting to attract more European Catholics to the area, he wrote articles in German newspapers about the availability of good agricultural land. By 1855, many German, Slovene, and Luxembourger settlers started arriving in the region.[3] In 1856, five monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, arrived in St. Cloud to minister to the German settlers. They established Saint John's college in 1857 in Collegeville.[4]
Diocesan Pastoral Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota (2019)
After his consecration, Seidenbusch traveled across the vicariate by buggy, wagon, and rail and continued to solicit donations from Europe.[5] He used Saint Mary's Church as his temporary cathedral, administering confirmation for the first time there in 1875.[6] He performed his first ordinations of seminarians at Saint John's College in 1876.[6] Seidenbusch oversaw the completion of Holy Angels Cathedral in 1884.[6] During his term, the Vatican removed the Dakotas and erected the Diocese of Duluth from the vicariate. Seidenbusch retired due to poor health in 1888.
1888 to 1950
Bishop Trobec (1921)
On September 22, 1888, Pope Leo XIII suppressed the vicariate to erect the Diocese of Saint Cloud.[7][8]John Zardetti, general vicar of the Vicariate of Dakota, became the first bishop of Saint Cloud. Zardetti immediately started construction of the diocesan cathedral. He worked to enlarge the parochial school system and created a newspaper for the diocese.[9] In 1889, the Benedictine brothers opened St. Benedict's Academy, which became St. Benedict's College in 1913.[10]
Suffering from the cold climate, the Vatican allowed Zardetti in 1894 to resign as bishop and return to Rome to serve in the Roman Curia.
Bishop Martin Marty of the Diocese of Sioux Falls was the second bishop of Saint Cloud, beginning in 1895. Already ill when he took office, Marty died less than two years later in 1896. James Trobec of St. Paul replaced Marty. Trobec led the diocese through a time of growth, with a particular focus on priestly vocations and Catholic education.[11] By 1911, the Catholic population of the diocese had grown by 25,000, the number of priests and parishes had each increased by 35, and the diocese had two new hospitals.[12]
After 38 years as bishop, Busch died in 1953. Bartholome automatically succeeded him as bishop of Saint Cloud.[14] In 1966, Auxiliary Bishop George Henry Speltz from the Diocese of Winona was appointed coadjutor bishop. When Bartholome retired in 1971, Speltz took his place.[15] In 1984, Speltz refused to allow Catholic weddings to couples who cohabitated before marriage.[16] Speltz retired in 1987 due to poor health.
The current bishop of Saint Cloud is Patrick Neary, named by Francis in 2023.
Sex abuse cases and bankruptcy
In 2007, police received a complaint from an 18-year-old man who had been receiving anonymous obscene and suggestive letters. The letters were traced to John Lloyd Caskey from Morris. When police searched the priest's residence, they discovered 8,600 images of child pornography on his personal computer. He was arrested in February 2008 on charges of possessing child pornography. Bishop Kinney, reading about Caskey's arrest in a newspaper, immediately suspended him from ministry.[19] Caskey pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2009 to one month in jail and five years' probation.[20]
In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Minnesota Child Victims Act of 2013. It lifted the previous civil statute of limitations for child abuse sexual allegations until 2016,[21] allowing individuals to file lawsuits on old sexual abuse claims. In 2015, two women sued the diocese, claiming that they had been sexually abused by Donald Rieder from Randall when they were ages 11 to 15 in the 1960s.[22] The priest was convicted in 2003 of sexual abuse of a minor and spent one year in prison.[23]
In 2016, the diocese turned over 13,500 documents related to sexual abuse allegations against its priests to law enforcement.[24] In March 2018, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[21] In August 2018, the diocese announced its cooperation with a proposed grand jury investigation to disclose names of accused priests.[24]
In May 2020, the bankruptcy court agreed to the diocese bankruptcy plan, which included a $22.5 million settlement plan for 70 sexual abuse survivors.[25] The same day, Bishop Kettler apologized to the victims for the harm they suffered. He said that he remained committed to "assist in the healing of all those who have been hurt."[25] In 2022, the diocese published an update list of diocesan clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[26]
Coat of arms
Coat of arms of Diocese of Saint Cloud
Escutcheon
France ancient, thereon a chalice argent, the bowl charged with a cross-ancrée sable
Symbolism
The arms of the diocese are based on the retroactive arms of Clovis and Clodomir, with a chalice added indicating St. Clodoaldus's priesthood.[27]
↑ Heuser, Herman Joseph (1915). "Some Recent Episcopal Arms". The American Ecclesiastical Review. LIII (July). The Dolphin Press: 79. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
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United States 
16 counties in central Minnesota 
