Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City

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.

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 km^2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(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

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]

Bishops

Ordinaries

The bishops of the diocese and their terms of service:

Bishops of Lead

1. John Stariha (1902–1909)
2. Joseph Francis Busch (1910–1915), appointed Bishop of Saint Cloud
3. John Jeremiah Lawler (1915–1930 see below)

Bishops of Rapid City

1. John Jeremiah Lawler (see above 1930–1948)
2. William Tibertus McCarty (1948–1969)
3. Harold Joseph Dimmerling (1969–1987)
4. Charles Joseph Chaput (1988–1997), appointed Archbishop of Denver and later Archbishop of Philadelphia
5. Blase Joseph Cupich (1998–2010), appointed Bishop of Spokane and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 2016)
6. Robert Dwayne Gruss (2011–2019), appointed Bishop of Saginaw
7. 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
• Michel Mulloy, appointed Bishop of Duluth in 2020

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

1. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Lead" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. Cheney, David M. (July 19, 2011). "Diocese of Rapid City". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
3. "Diocese of Rapid City". Giga Catholic. Retrieved 2013-06-04.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City Official Site