Territory
The Diocese of Bismarck encompasses 24 North Dakota counties over 34,0000 square miles:
Adams, Billings, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Oliver, Renville, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Ward and Williams counties (along with the western part of Bottineau County). [1]
The diocese has a total population over 253,000 people, with approximately 66,400 Catholic church members.
History
1800 to 1900
The Dakotas area went through several Catholic jurisdictions before the creation of the Diocese of Fargo:
The first Catholic church in western North Dakota was the Church of the Immaculate Conception, dedicated in Bismarck in 1875. [3]
1900 to 1951
On December 31, 1909 Pope Pius X established the Diocese of Bismarck, taking its territory from the Diocese of Fargo. [4] [5] He appointed Reverend Vincent de Paul Wehrle as the first bishop of the new diocese. During Wehrle's 29-year-long tenure, the Catholic population increased from 25,000 to 55,000. He constructed 55 churches, 18 parochial schools, and four hospitals were established. Wehrle established 115 new congregations. He also began construction on the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, but was forced to abandon his efforts due to the Great Depression. [6]
After Wehrle retired in 1939, Pope Pius XII named Monsignor Vincent Ryan of Fargo as the second bishop of Bismarck. [7] During his 11-year tenure, Ryan constructed 69 church buildings for a total cost of over ten million dollars. [8] Ryan founded the diocesan newspaper, Dakota Catholic Action, in 1941. [8] The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was dedicated in 1945. [8] Ryan publicly opposed the 1948 North Dakota "anti-garb" law, which prohibited nuns from wearing their religious habits while teaching in public schools. [8] Ryan died in 1951.
1952 to 1982
In 1952, Monsignor Lambert Hoch of the Diocese of Sioux Falls was appointed the third bishop of Bismarck, by Pius XII. [9] During his four-year tenure, Hoch worked to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life; between 1952 and 1960, 29 priests were ordained for the diocese and 13 for Assumption Abbey in Richardton. [10] Hoch became bishop of Sioux Falls in 1956.
Pius XII named Monsignor Hilary Hacker of Saint Paul as the fourth bishop of Bismarck in 1956. [11] Hacker dedicated much of his tenure implementing the Second Vatican Council reforms, especially the Mass of Paul VI, and greater participation of the laity. [12] His tenure was also marked by high Catholic school enrollment, as well as the founding of Bishop Ryan High School in Minor and Trinity High School in Dickinson. He also established an annual appeal called God's Share; between 1956 and 1963, the annual collection rose from $165,000 to $225,000. [12] Hacker retired in 1982.
1982 to present
The next bishop of Bismarck was Auxiliary Bishop John Kinney of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, named by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Kinney became bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud in 1995. [13] To replace Kinney, the pope appointed Auxiliary Bishop Paul Zipfel of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1997 as bishop of Bismarck. Zipfel retired in 2011. [14]
The bishop of Bismarck, as of 2023, is David Kagan from the Diocese of Rockford. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. [15] In 2015, Kagan announced that the diocese was cutting ties with the Boy Scouts of America due to policy changes allowing gay men to become scout leaders and volunteers. [16] Kagan announced in 2022 that the diocese would investigate the life of Michelle Duppong for possible canonization. She conducted missionary work for several years at universities and colleges in North Dakota. [17]
Sex abuse
In 2002, Bishop Zipfel introduced a zero-tolerance policy of sexual abuse allegations against priests in the diocese. Under the policy, anyone accused of abuse would be immediately removed from active ministry and reported to the police for investigation. [18]
In 2019, the diocese released the names of 22 clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950. [19] In 2020, Bishop Kagan released a list of 18 diocesan clergy and four extern clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. He stated that the last substantiated case of sexual abuse occurred in 1989. [20]
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington. It is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province containing three suffragan sees: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, the Diocese of Jefferson City, and the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. It is led by Archbishop, Mitchell Thomas Rozanski, formerly the Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts.
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The archbishop has both a cathedral and co-cathedral: the mother church – the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, and the co-cathedral, the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwestern Missouri in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
The Diocese of Lansing is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese – of the Catholic Church located in the south-central portion of Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit.
The Archdiocese of Omaha is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern Nebraska in the United States. Its current archbishop, George Joseph Lucas, was installed in Omaha on July 22, 2009.
The Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southern Missouri in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
The Diocese of Duluth is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Fargo is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern North Dakota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Rapid City is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota in the United States It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Saint Cloud is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in central Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Sioux Falls is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church diocese in South Dakota in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Sylvester William Treinen was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Boise in Idaho from 1962 to 1988.
Paul Albert Zipfel was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck in North Dakota from 1997 to 2011. Zipfel served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis from 1989 to 1996.
John Francis Kinney was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud in Minnesota from 1995 to 2013.
Hilary Baumann Hacker was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck in North Dakota from 1957 to 1982.
Lambert Anthony Hoch was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Bismarck (1952–1956) and Bishop of Sioux Falls (1956–1978).
Vincent James Ryan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck in North Dakota from 1940 until his death.
Vincent de Paul Wehrle, O.S.B., was a Swiss-born Benedictine monk and prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. His birth name was Johann Baptist Wehrle.
David Dennis Kagan is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck in North Dakota since 2011.
Austin Anthony Vetter is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana since 2019.
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