Diocese of Rapid City Dioecesis Rapidopolitana | |
|---|---|
) Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help | |
) | |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory |  West of the Missouri River in South Dakota |
| Ecclesiastical province | Saint Paul and Minneapolis |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 43,000 sq mi (110,000 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members) | (as of 2010) 239,000 30,700 (12.8%) |
| Parishes | 88 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | August 6, 1902 (118 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Peter Michael Muhich |
| Map | |
) | |
| Website | |
| rapidcitydiocese.org | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City (Latin: Dioecesis Rapidopolitana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in western South Dakota, United States. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The See city for the diocese is Rapid City. The Cathedral parish is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Peter Michael Muhich was installed as bishop of this see on July 9, 2020.
History
On August 6, 1902 Saint Pius X established the diocese as the Diocese of Lead.[1] Its territory was taken from the Diocese of Sioux Falls. The name of the diocese was changed by Pope Pius XI on August 1, 1930 when the see city was transferred to Rapid City.[2][3]
Reports of sex abuse
On March 15, 2019, the Diocese of Rapid City published a list of 21 Catholic clergy who were credible accused of committing acts of sex abuse while serving in schools, churches, hospitals and on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations from 1951 to 2018.[4] The list was accompanied by a letter written by then-Rapid City Bishop Robert D. Gruss, which stated, among other things, that "It is important to acknowledge the horrid truth of past abuse in the church so that we can repent of these actions and to recommit ourselves to ensuring that no one is hurt moving forward."[5]
On August 7, 2020, the Rapid City Diocese had received an allegation that recent vicar Michel Mulloy sexually abused a minor in the 1980s.[6] This led to Mulloy's resignation from his recent appointment as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth before he was consecrated.[7] Mulloy was reported to be no longer active in the Diocese of Rapid City.[7]
On November 12, 2020, Pope Francis laicized Rapid City priest John Praveen, a native of Hyderabad, India who joined the Diocese of Rapid in for a 10-year assignment in December 2017.[8] The Diocese of Rapid City sponsored Praveen's visa. Upon arrving, Praveen first worked in Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation and was transferred to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in June 2018.[8] He worked at the cathedral until he was arrested and charged on October 2, 2018 on sex abuse charges.[8] Following his arrest, former Bishop Robert Gruss stripped Praveen of his both his clerical attire and priestly duties and also ordered him live a life of prayer and penance under the supervision of the Rapid City Bishop.[8] On November 25, 2020 it was announced that federal sex abuse and child pornography charges were pending against Fr. Marcin Garbacz,[9] who was already serving a 7.75 year prison sentence for stealing from the Diocese of Rapid City.[10]
Bishops
Ordinaries
The bishops of the diocese and their terms of service:
- Bishops of Lead
- John Stariha (1902–1909)
- Joseph Francis Busch (1910–1915), appointed Bishop of Saint Cloud
- John Jeremiah Lawler (1915–1930 see below)
- Bishops of Rapid City
- John Jeremiah Lawler (see above 1930–1948)
- William Tibertus McCarty (1948–1969)
- Harold Joseph Dimmerling (1969–1987)
- Charles Joseph Chaput (1988–1997), appointed Archbishop of Denver and later Archbishop of Philadelphia
- Blase Joseph Cupich (1998–2010), appointed Bishop of Spokane and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 2016)
- Robert Dwayne Gruss (2011–2019), appointed Bishop of Saginaw
- Peter Michael Muhich (2020–present)
Coadjutor bishop
- Leo Ferdinand Dworschak (1946-1947), did not succeed to this see; appointed auxiliary bishop of Fargo in 1947
Other priests of the diocese who became bishops
- Lawrence Welsh, appointed Bishop of Spokane in 1978
- Steven Biegler, appointed Bishop of Cheyenne in 2017
High schools
- Red Cloud High School, Pine Ridge
- St. Thomas More High School, Rapid City
See also
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
References
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Cheney, David M. (July 19, 2011). "Diocese of Rapid City". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ "Diocese of Rapid City". Giga Catholic. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
- ^ Zionts, Arielle (March 19, 2019). "Rapid City Diocese: 21 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ https://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PUBLISHED-NAMES-2019-with-letter-for-website.pdf
- ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (September 7, 2020). "Pope Francis accepts resignation of Duluth Bishop-elect Michel Mulloy after abuse allegation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ a b Caudill, Jack (September 7, 2020). "Former Rapid City priest and bishop-elect of Duluth resigns amid sexual abuse allegation". KEVN. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Zionts, Arielle (November 12, 2020). "Pope Francis defrocks former Rapid City priest convicted of child sexual abuse". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/south-dakota-priest-jailed-for-theft-blames-catholic-doctrine-also-facing-sex-abuse-charges-83127%7Ctitle=Priest jailed for theft blames Catholic doctrine, also facing sex abuse charges|first=JD|last=Flynn|publisher=Catholic News Agency|date=November 25, 2020|accessdate=December 4, 2020}}
- ^ Zionts, Arielle (November 25, 2020). "Former Rapid City priest sentenced to 7.75 years in prison for stealing from diocese". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
External links