Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm

The Diocese of New Ulm (Latin: Dioecesis Novae Ulmae) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western Minnesota in the United States.

Diocese of New Ulm

Dioecesis Novae Ulmae
Holy Trinity Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryMinnesota 15 counties in western Minnesota
Ecclesiastical provinceSaint Paul and Minneapolis
Statistics
Area9,863 sq mi (25,550 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2004)
285,061
69,503 (24.4%)
Parishes82
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedNovember 18, 1957 (65 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Holy Trinity
Patron saintMary, Mother of God[1]
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopChad Zielinski
Metropolitan ArchbishopBernard Hebda
Bishops emeritusJohn M. LeVoir[2]
Map
Website
dnu.org

The Diocese of New Ulm is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The see for the diocese is New Ulm. The Cathedral parish is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

Territory

The Diocese of New Ulm encompasses the counties of Big Stone, Brown, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Sibley, Swift, and Yellow Medicine in Minnesota.[3]

The largest town in the diocese is Willmar at 19,610; New Ulm is, after Hutchinson and Marshall, the 4th largest city. There are no Catholic colleges or universities in the diocese.

History

1826 to 1957

Central Minnesota went through several Catholic jurisdictions before the Vatican erected the Diocese of New Ulm:

The New Ulm area would remain part of the Diocese of Saint Paul, followed by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, for the next 107 years.

The first Catholic church in the city of New Ulm, Holy Trinity, was started in 1857, but was demolished during the Dakota War of 1862.[4] The replacement church was built in 1871, then was destroyed by a tornado ten years later. The current Holy Trinity church was completed in 1903.[4]

1957 to 2000

On November 18, 1957, Pope Pius XII founded the Diocese of New Ulm, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul.[5][6] The pope named Monsignor Alphonse Schladweiler of Saint Paul as the first bishop of New Ulm.

Following the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in Rome, Schladweiler worked to implement its reforms, including introducing English into the mass.[7] During his 18-year tenure, he ordained 64 priests and organized St. Isadore Parish in Clarkfield (1960) and Lady of the Lakes Parish in Spicer (1962).[8] In 1972, Schladweiler founded a diocesan newspaper, the Newsletter, and the diocesan pastoral council.[7] He also established a mission in Guatemala, assuming responsibility for staffing a parish in San Lucas Tolimán.[7] Schladweiler retired in 1975.

The second bishop of New Ulm was Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Lucker of Saint Paul, named by Pope Paul VI in 1975.[9] He placed one of his parishes under interdict until every member received psychological counseling after a nun, trained in New Age spirituality, replaced a crucifix in the church sanctuary with a "cosmic pillow."[10] Lucker retired in 2000 due to health reasons.

2000 to present

Pope John Paul II named Auxiliary Bishop John Nienstedt from the Archdiocese of Detroit as the third bishop of New Ulm in 2001.[11] He denounced the more progressive views of Lucker and told Catholics not to read Lucker's book on Catholic doctrine.[12] Nienstadt became coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 2007.[13]

Nienstedt's replacement in New Ulm was Reverend John M. LeVoir of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, named by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.[14] In 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy following numerous sexual abuse lawsuits against diocesan clergy.[15] LeVoir retired in 2020.

As of 2023, the current bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm is Chad Zielinski, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks. He was named by Pope Francis in 2022.[16]

Sexual abuse

In the 1980s, a diocesan housekeeper reported to Reverend Francis J. Garvey, then a member of the priest personnel board, that Reverend John M. Murphy was entertaining young boys in his apartment. Garvey relayed the information to Bishop Schladweiler, who told Garvey to mind his own business. Nevertheless, Garvey confronted Murphey, who immediately resigned his post and left the diocese.[17] This information was revealed by Garvey in a legal deposition taken in 2014. Murphy was included in the list of accused priests released by the diocese.[18]

In 2002, Nienstadt compiled a list of 12 priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse for submission to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at City University of New York. John Jay was studying clergy abuse in the United States. However, Nienstadt refused to release this list to the general public. In 2014, two men who claimed to have been sexually abused by Reverend Michael Skoblik sued the diocese, demanding the release of the list.[19]

In March 2016, the diocese released the names of 16 clergy, 13 deceased, who were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors.[18] In April 2016, three more priests were added to the list.[20]In March 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to settle its sexual abuse lawsuits.[15] At that point, 21 diocesan priests had credible accusations of sexual abuse, with most of the accusations dating from the 1950s to the 1970s.[21] The lawsuits against the diocese accused approximately 90 priests of sexually abusing 101 victims.[21]

In June 2019, the diocese agreed to distribute $34 million to 93 alleged victims as part of a settlement.[22] It was approved by a bankruptcy judge in March 2020.[23]

Bishops

Bishops of New Ulm

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

John Jeremiah McRaith, appointed Bishop of Owensboro in 1982

Education

The Diocese of New Ulm has three high schools and 13 primary schools, with an approximate enrollment as of 2022 of 1,870.[24]

See also

References
  1. "Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy Day of Obligation)". January 2019.
  2. "Bishop John LeVoir Of Diocese Of New Ulm Resigns". minnesota.cbslocal.com. WCCO. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. "About the Diocese of New Ulm". Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  4. "Holy Trinity Cathedral history". Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  5. "Diocese of New Ulm". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  6. "Diocese of New Ulm". Giga Catholic. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  7. "Bishop Schladweiler". Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  8. "Msgr. Alphonse J. Schladweiler named bishop of New Ulm diocese" (PDF). The Prairie Catholic. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  9. "Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  10. Likoudis, Paul. "Bishop Raymond Lucker: A Tragic Figure of the 'New Catechetics'". CatholicCulture.org.
  11. "Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  12. McClory, Robert J. (May 7, 2004). "Bishop takes issue with late predecessor". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009.
  13. "Bishop Nienstedt in line to take Saint Paul-Minneapolis post". Catholic News Agency. April 24, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  14. "Rinunce e Nomine, 14.07.2008" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. July 14, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  15. Hopfspenburger, Jean (March 4, 2017). "New Ulm bankruptcy makes Minnesota No. 1 in church bankruptcies - StarTribune.com". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  16. "Bishop Chad William Zielinski [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  17. Gurnon, Emily (August 4, 2014). "Names of New Ulm Priests Accused of Sexual Misconduct Made Public". Pioneer Press. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  18. Buletti, Leah (29 March 2016). "Diocese of New Ulm releases names of priests credibly accused of sex abuse". Mankato Free Press.
  19. "New lawsuit in New Ulm seeks full disclosure in Minnesota". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  20. "3 Diocese of New Ulm priests newly accused in abuse lawsuit". Mankato Free Press. April 16, 2016.
  21. ROEWE, BRIAN (March 3, 2017). "New Ulm diocese third in Minnesota to file for bankruptcy". National Catholic Reporter.
  22. "New Ulm Diocese reaches $34 million settlement with abuse survivors". National Catholic Reporter. June 28, 2019.
  23. Ruff, Joe (June 28, 2019). "Bankruptcy judge approves New Ulm Diocese's clergy sex abuse settlement". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  24. "Our Schools". Diocese of New Ulm. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

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