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, United States. It 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.

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

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

In 1826, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of St. Louis from the Diocese of Bardstown, encompassing Minnesota along with other vast areas of the American Midwest. The same pope moved the Minnesota area to the Diocese of Dubuque in 1837.[4]Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of St. Paul in Minnesota in 1850, covering all of Minnesota. The New Ulm area would remain part of this diocese, 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. [5] 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.[5]

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.[6][7] 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.[8] 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).[9] In 1972, he founded a diocesan newspaper, Newsletter, and the Diocesan Pastoral Council.[8] He also established a mission in Guatemala, assuming responsibility for staffing a parish in San Lucas Tolimán.[8]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. He once placed one of his parishes under interdict until every member received psychological counseling. This was after some parishioners objected to a nun, trained in New Age spirituality, who replaced a crucifix in the church's 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. He denounced the more progressive views of Lucker and told Catholics not to read his book on Catholic doctrine.[11] Nienstadt became coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 2007.[12]

Nienstedt's replacement in New Ulm was Reverend John M. LeVoir of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, named by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.[13] In 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy following numerous sexual abuse lawsuits against diocesan clergy.[14] 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.

Sexual abuse

On March 29, the diocese released the names of 16 clergy, 13 deceased, who were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors.[15] In April 2016, three more priests were added to the list.[16]

On March 3, 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to settle its sexual abuse lawsuits.[14] At that point, 21 diocesan priests had credible accusations of sexual abuse, with most of the accusations dating from the 1950's to the 1970's.[17] The lawsuits against the diocese accused approximately 90 priests of sexually abusing 101 victims.[17]

In June 2019, the diocese agreed to distribute $34 million to 93 alleged victims as part of a settlement.[18] It was approved by a bankruptcy judge in March 2020.[19]

Bishops

Bishops of New Ulm

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

John Jeremiah McRaith, appointed Bishop of Owensboro in 1982

High schools

See also

References
  1. "Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Holy Day of Obligation)".
  2. "Bishop John LeVoir Of Diocese Of New Ulm Resigns". minnesota.cbslocal.com. WCCO. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. "About".
  4. "The History of the Diocese of Winona". www.dowr.org. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  5. "Holy Trinity Cathedral history". Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  6. "Diocese of New Ulm". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  7. "Diocese of New Ulm". Giga Catholic. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  8. "Bishop Schladweiler". Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  9. "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.
  10. Likoudis, Paul. "Bishop Raymond Lucker: A Tragic Figure of the 'New Catechetics'". CatholicCulture.org.
  11. McClory, Robert J. (May 7, 2004). "Bishop takes issue with late predecessor". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009.
  12. "Bishop Nienstedt in line to take Saint Paul-Minneapolis post". Catholic News Agency. April 24, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  13. "Rinunce e Nomine, 14.07.2008" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. July 14, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  14. "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.
  15. Buletti, Leah. "Diocese of New Ulm releases names of priests credibly accused of sex abuse". Mankato Free Press.
  16. "3 Diocese of New Ulm priests newly accused in abuse lawsuit". April 16, 2016.
  17. "New Ulm diocese third in Minnesota to file for bankruptcy". National Catholic Reporter. March 3, 2017.
  18. "New Ulm Diocese reaches $34 million settlement with abuse survivors". National Catholic Reporter. June 28, 2019.
  19. "$34 million settlement approved in Diocese of New Ulm bankruptcy case". KSTP. March 10, 2020.

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