November New Earth 2014 125th Anniversary Special Edition

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November 2014 n Vol. 35 n No. 10 n mystery Page 1A steeple?

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New Earth CATHOLIC DIOCESE

OF

FARGO

September 2011 Vol. 32

No. 8

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” — Rev. 21:1

www.FargoDiocese.org

1889

2014

November 15, 2014 • 10 a.m.

Cathedral of St. Mary Fargo, N.D. For more information, visit www.fargodiocese.org/125

2A n November 2014

History of the Diocese of Fargo Compiled by Father Leo Stelten November 2014

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he Territory of Dakota was divided by an act of Congress on Feb. 22, 1889, and on Nov. 2 of that same year two new states,

North Dakota and South Dakota, were admitted into the Union.

Shortly thereafter, on Nov. 12, the Holy See created the Diocese of Jamestown, N.D. and on Nov. 15, 1889, Father John Shanley, the 37-year-old pastor of the St. Paul Cathedral, was appointed by Rome as its first bishop. He was consecrated as a bishop on Dec. 27, 1889, at the cathedral in St. Paul by Archbishop John Ireland. The Diocese of Jamestown included the entire state of North Dakota. Hoffmann’s Catholic Directory of 1890 indicates that there were 34 priests and

November 12 Diocese of Jamestown created by Holy See encompassing entire state of North Dakota

1889

November 15 Rome appoints Fr. John Shanley as first bishop of Diocese of Jamestown December 27 Fr. John Shanley consecrated bishop in unique triple ceremony at the Cathedral in St. Paul, Minn.

Timeline of History

44 churches in the new diocese. For convenience of travel reasons, Bishop Shanley moved his residence from Jamestown to a large house in Fargo in 1891. The Holy See changed the name of the diocese to Fargo a few years later. That residence in Fargo became the nucleus for the first Catholic hospital in the state in the early 1900s.

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ishop Shanley found the Catholic Church situation in the city of Fargo, as well as in the entire state, sorely inadequate. Almost immediately, property was purchased and plans for a cathedral were made. Only the basement was completed before the “big fire” of 1893 destroyed much of the downtown section of Fargo. Bishop Shanley donated the better part of the Cathedral funds that he had raised, to a great extent by preaching and giving missions, to the city for reconstruction after the fire. Therefore, the Cathedral construction was delayed. The Cathedral was finally completed and the dedication was held on May 30, 1899.

As a new bishop, Bishop Shanley pleaded for the fair treatment of all. He manifested great concern for the basic needs of his people, particularly in the area of education for those in the rural areas and especially for the Native Americans on the reservations. By 1911, after the new Diocese of Bismarck had been established in the western half of North Dakota the previous year, there were 87 priests in the Fargo Diocese; 70 parishes with resident priests. These priests also served 90 mission and 39 station churches. There were also three churches for the Native American people. There were 21 parish grade schools, six academies, two Native American schools and three hospitals, all of which were operated by three communities of religious men and eight communities of religious women. Six months before he died

Joliette Church, Mission of Pembina

November 2 Two states - North Dakota and South Dakota - admitted into the Union

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July 9 First Open Heart Surgery

April 25 SpanishAmerican War

1893

1898

August 16 Bishop Shanley moved from Jamestown to Fargo

Oakes Community Hospital Oakes

February 17 Discovery of X-rays

Pope Leo XIII closes the ‘Holy Door’ of St. Peter’s in Rome ending the Jubilee Year

1896

1900

1891

1897

1894

April 30 Seat of Diocese officially changed to Fargo

Saint Paul Seminary founded in St. Paul, Minn.

On front: Bishop Aloisius Muench laying the cornerstone for St. Catherine’s, Lomice, in 1936.

March 21 State of North Dakota divided into two Diocese Fargo and Bismarck May 19 Fr. James O’Reilly ordained 2nd bishop of Fargo

1905 Ford introduces Model-T

1908

1903

1909

July 20 Pope Leo XIII died

1899

May 30 Cathedral of St. Mary completed and dedicated

August 4 Pope Pius X elected

1910

1907

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet started St. Michael’s Hospital in Grand Forks

February 1 First Diocesan newspaper “The Bulletin” founded July 16 Bishop Shanley died

1912

April 14 Titanic Sinks

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to edit a newspaper himself as Bishop Shanley did, but he realized its value. Before his first year was completed as bishop, he arranged with the editors of “The Catholic Bulletin” in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis to publish news from Fargo and requested that the people of the Fargo Diocese subscribe to that newly established weekly. In 1923, through the motivation of Father Vincent J. Ryan, the Catholic Family Service was established in the Fargo Diocese.

After many changes in name and structure this social service agency became Catholic Charities of North Dakota in 2003 and now serves the entire state.

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ishop Aloisius (later Cardinal) Muench, the third bishop, an economist and a staunch advocate of social justice, established

the Church Expansion Fund and the Priests’ Mutual Aid fund to

St. Bernard Academy Grand Forks, N.D. 1885-1914

in his sleep on July 16, 1909, Bishop Shanley, a capable and tireless worker, became the editor of a new diocesan monthly newspaper, “The Bulletin.”

prudently provide for the future development of the diocese and the

uring the 25-year administration of the second bishop, Bishop James O’Reilly, the diocese continued to grow so that, at the time of his death in 1934, there were 132 priests and 242 churches. There were 24 parish grade schools, 11 academies and seven hospitals. By this time there were many communities of clergy and religious laboring in the Fargo Diocese: Benedictine priests and a few Benedictine sisters from Indiana, Presentation Sisters from Ireland, Presentation Sisters from France, Franciscan Sisters from Germany, Mercy Sisters from Omaha, Sister Servants of Christ the King from Wisconsin, Ursuline Sisters under Mother Stanislaus and Sisters of St. Joseph from St. Paul. Bishop O’Reilly, who came from Minneapolis, was not inclined

a 10-page monthly in 1980 and the name was changed to “The New

needs of the clergy. He began publication of a four-page diocesan monthly newspaper, “Catholic Action News,” in 1939. This became

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St. Michael’s grade school - Grand Forks

1916 St. Andrew Health Center Bottineau

June 28 Treaty of Versailles ends World War I

1919 1914

August 20 Pope Pius X died September 3 Pope Benedict XV elected

seminarian scholarship fund. During the 74 years since then, monthly contributions have been made for seminarian education. The first diocesan synod was held in 1941 under the direction of Bishop Muench. The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) program was begun with the help of Msgr. (later Bishop) William Mulloy. Bishop Muench introduced the Sisters of Service to the diocese so that they could teach the children of the rural parishes catechism through their correspondence courses. Many European clergy, displaced from their own dioceses by the Communist takeovers, came to the Fargo Diocese

January 22 Pope Benedict XV died

Women granted the right to vote

1913

Earth.” In October 1938 Bishop Muench established a diocesan

June 28 U.S. officially gets national anthem

February 6 Pope Pius XI elected St. Mary School Fargo opened St. Anthony School, Fargo, opened

1922

Mercy Hospital Valley City Sisters of St. Francis established in Hankinson

December 19 Bishop O’Reilly died

1928

1934

1921 1917

April 2 U.S. enters World War I St. Catherine Elementary Valley City St. James High school (1969) resurrected from Grand Forks Academy

1931

1929

St. Alphonsus Elementary Langdon

1935

St. Mary Elementary Grand Forks

1923

Catholic Charities of North Dakota founded Talking movies invented

June 28 The Great Depression begins

1933

June 28 Adolph Hitler becomes leader of Germany

August 10 Fr. Aloisius Muench appointed 3rd bishop of Fargo

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through the efforts of Bishop Muench in his assignment in Germany.

Although he was sent in 1946 on a Papal Mission to Germany after World War II, he remained the Bishop of Fargo until he was appointed a Cardinal.

into diocesan management. Msgr. Frank Nestor inaugurated the

I

late 1960s. The diocese participated in Father Patrick Peyton’s Rosary

n 1947 Bishop Leo F. Dworschak, a priest of the Fargo Diocese, who the year before had been consecrated a bishop for Rapid City, S.D., was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop for Fargo. He directed the diocese as the auxiliary until he was named Bishop of Fargo when Bishop Muench was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1960. During this time, Carmelite nuns were invited to establish a cloistered convent in the diocese and the Redemptorist Fathers established a Mission House with headquarters in Cooperstown. The Diocesan Development Program (followed by God’s Gift Appeal) was inaugurated to assure capital expansion and better support for the needs of the diocesan, national and international programs and institutions. In 1950 Shanley High School was built in north Fargo as a successor to Sacred Heart Academy, the school the Presentation Sisters founded more than 50 years earlier. In the tornado of 1957, a large part of Sacred Heart convent and part of the Academy building were destroyed. The Presentation Sisters immediately began making plans for a new convent to be located in south Fargo on University near 32nd Ave. In 1962, the abandoned Academy building on North Broadway became a high school seminary. In 1966, Cardinal Muench Seminary was moved to a new location on property in northeast Fargo. The college seminary became a department of North Dakota State University.

In 1966, in response to Vatican II, the Pastoral and Apostolic Council was developed. This introduced religious women as well as laypeople

St. Aloisius Medical Center established Harvey

1938

April 1 First Diocesan Synod December 7 Japanese attack Pearl Harbor drawing U.S. into WWII

September 1 World War II begins

Crusade. The National Catholic Rural Life Conference flourished in the diocese under the energetic direction of Father Joseph Hylden.

A huge detriment to this period of educational and hospital growth

Bishop Leo Dworschak, right, and Father Edward Arth break ground for the new Cardinal Muench Seminary.

October 19 Pope Pius XII died Holy Spirit Elementary

October 28 Pope John XXIII elected

1947

1953

1958

May 10 Bishop Dworschak became 4th bishop of Fargo

April 1 Colored TV introduced

St. Joseph School Devils Lake

Holy Family/ St. Mary School Grand Forks

1951

1956

1960

1952

Little Flower Elementary Rugby

March 2 Pope Pius XII elected

were rewarded by the establishment of a diocesan retreat house in the

April 21 Polaroid Cameras invented

1942

February 10 Pope Pius XI died

active retreat program for both laymen and laywomen. His efforts

April 10 Bishop Leo Dworschak appointed Auxiliary bishop of Fargo

1941

1939

Cursillo movement and Msgr. Lucian Arrell began and directed a very

1957

June 21 Large Fargo Tornado

St. Anne Guest Home - Grand Forks

1950

Shanley High School built

Lisbon Area Health Services

1954

Diocese welcomes Carmelite Sisters Carmel of Mary Wahpeton

August 15 First pilgrimage and blessing of the Shrine at the Carmel of Mary Wahpeton

1959

December 14 Bishop Muench created Cardinal

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Bishop Justin Driscoll presides over Confirmation Mass at St. Michael’s on Spirit Lake Nation in 1975.

Bishop James Sullivan exits the Cathedral of St. Mary, Fargo, to begin a Eucharistic procession in 2000.

was the passage of anti-garb legislation by the North Dakota State legislature. As a result of this new law, religious women had to choose to either abandon their work in the diocese or wear secular garb while functioning. Msgr. Anthony Peschel and the Fargo Diocese were instrumental in the establishment of Health Care Insurance in the state of North Dakota. Msgr. Peschel, along with Cardinal Muench and Bishop Dworschak, were charter members when Blue Cross was formed in the state. Catholic Youth Organizations flourished with students campaigning to attend either local diocesan conventions or national conventions. Father Robert Hovda, a priest of this diocese,

Movement both locally and nationally. Through this leadership, Dorothy Day was invited and visited the Diocese of Fargo twice. arly in his administration Bishop Justin Driscoll, the fifth Fargo bishop, relocated the diocesan offices to the remodeled Sacred Heart Academy/Cardinal Muench seminary. These offices had been moved by Bishop Dworschak from their original location in the bishop’s house at 608 Broadway to the Black Building in downtown Fargo. Bishop Driscoll initiated the Emmaus program for priestly renewal. He used his moral right to teach and he spoke without apology on moral issues, especially abortion and pro-life. Although

promoted the Liturgical Movement and the Catholic Worker February 15 Cardinal Muench died October 11 Opening of the Second Vatican Council Ave Maria Village Jamestown

Cardinal Muench Seminary built in North Fargo

1966

1962 Maryhill Manor Enderlin

September 8 Fr. Justin Driscoll appointed 5th bishop of Fargo

1964

1970

1961

1965

1963

June 21 Pope Paul VI elected November 12 Pope John XXIII died November 22 JFK assassinated

small town Catholic high schools were closing, education continued,

Presentation Care Center - Rolette

December 10 Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1974

1979 November 5 Bishop Dworschak died

April 2 Bishop James Sullivan appointed 6th bishop of Fargo

1976

1985

1973

March 8 U.S. troops go to Vietnam

Berlin Wall built

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1978

January 22 Roe vs. Wade legalizes abortion in the U.S.

1969

July 20 First Man on the Moon

1975

April 20 Blessing and Dedication of Queen of Peace Catholic Center

1988

1987

August 6 Pope Paul VI died October 16 Pope John Paul II elected

October 26 St. James church in Jamestown elevated to a Basilica in honor of the Centennial of the Diocese

February Synod 87 “The Vocation and the Mission of the Laity”

1984

November 19 Bishop Driscoll died

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especially as the fledgling permanent diaconate program began and active Newman Centers appeared on the campuses of most of the colleges in the diocese. Improved educational opportunities continued to be provided for the migrant workers with clergy, religious women and seminarians providing for education and health needs. Bishop Driscoll promoted education and ecumenism and cooperated well with the CHARIS program at Concordia College in Moorhead and the Fargo-Moorhead Communiversity. He died unexpectedly in 1984 while attending an ecumenical gathering at the University of Mary.

built in south Fargo in 2002. The two Presentation Middle schools,

ishop James S. Sullivan, an auxiliary bishop from Lansing, Mich., became the sixth Bishop of Fargo. The Catholic school network in the city of Fargo was revamped. A new Shanley High School was

areas. At one time there were 17 Catholic hospitals located throughout

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St. Anthony’s and Holy Spirit, became one new school named in honor of Bishop Sullivan. With improved road conditions throughout the state, consolidation of schools became a common occurrence.

Demographic population changes and the continuing decline in religious vocations became a definite cause for concern. Only one of 13 Catholic high schools in the diocese still remains open and many smaller parish elementary schools have closed. This was also true with regard to Catholic hospitals and Catholic schools of nursing in rural the diocese; now there are eight. The arrival of native clergy from both India and Africa helped to lessen some of the problems associated with the population shifts and parish closings. The centennial of the diocese was celebrated during the entire year of 1989. A history of the diocese, BEYOND RED RIVER, edited by Father Terrence Kardong, OSB, was published. Father Kardong used the historical research notes of Sister Borgia Sondag, PBVM in this work. In 1996 the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity (SOLT) began to serve in the Fargo Diocese.

Bishop Sullivan continued the pro-life work of his predecessors and was an advocate for Marian devotion especially to Our Lady of Fatima.

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sgr. Samuel J. Aquila, rector of the seminary in Denver, was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Fargo Diocese in 2001. He

became the bishop when Bishop Sullivan retired in 2002. He was an organizer, a builder, and an ardent pro-life advocate. The 100-year-old bishop’s residence at 608 Broadway was renovated and modernized and all the diocesan offices and functions were brought together at one location in the new Pastoral Center on Bishops Boulevard in

Bishop Aquila with diocesan pilgrims at World Youth Day 2005 in Germany

April Red River Flood September 5 Mother Teresa of Calcutta dies

March 18 Bishop Aquila became 7th bishop of Fargo

1997

2002

November 4 Barack Obama becomes first black U.S. President April 2 Pope John Paul II died

2009

February 28 Pope Benedict XVI resigned March 13 Pope Francis elected

November 9 Berlin Wall falls

January 1 New Millennium

April 19 Pope Benedict XVI elected

June 19 Msgr. John Folda ordained 8th bishop of Fargo

1989

2000

2005

2013

1992

August 16 First Marian Day of Prayer for Life in Fargo (Walk with Christ for Life)

2001

2006

June 12 Fr. Samuel Aquila appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Fargo

1999

St. Ann School Belcourt May 17 St. John Vianney Theological Seminary founded in Denver, Colo.

September 11 Terrorist attack on U.S. October 6 The Act of the War on Terrorism signed by Presient Bush

2014

June 12 Bishop Sullivan died

2012 2003 St. Gianna Maternity Home Warsaw

May 29 Bishop Aquila appointed Archbishop of Denver, Colo.

July 18 Bishop Kagan administered Diocese of Fargo

November 12 125th Anniversary of the Diocese of Fargo

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November 2014 n 7A

order of the sacraments so that students now receive Reconciliation in second grade and Confirmation and first Eucharist in third grade.

On May 29, 2012, Bishop Aquila was appointed Archbishop of Denver, Colo. and administered the Diocese until his installation in Denver on July 18, 2012.

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ishop David Kagan, Bishop of Bismarck, was appointed and administered the Diocese of Fargo from July 18, 2012 until June 19, 2013.

O Archbishop Samuel Aquila places his hands on his successor, Bishop John Folda during ordination in June 2013.

south Fargo. Completing the work done by his predecessor, a more thorough grassroots study about parish size and boundaries was undertaken by diocesan administrators, pastors and lay people. As a result of the study, parishes in the entire diocese were realigned and many parishes were merged or closed. In 2011, after 49 years of existence, Cardinal Muench Seminary was closed. Over 100 of its graduates have become priests. Bishop Aquila approved establishment of a small chapel near the only abortion center in North Dakota. He also reorganized the Deanery structure within the diocese and placed more importance on the authority of the Deans. Presently there are eight Deaneries; at one time there were as many as 16. He restored the

n April 8, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Msgr. John T. Folda, a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., the eighth Bishop of Fargo. The news that their newly appointed bishop was both a priest from a rural Midwestern diocese and the rector of a college seminary was received well by the clergy of the rural Diocese of Fargo. Bishop Folda was consecrated at the Cathedral of St. Mary on June 19, 2013 and currently shepherds the people of the Diocese of Fargo.

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t one period in the 1990s there were 163 active parishes in the Fargo Diocese. Today there are 131. There are 84 active diocesan clergy, nine priest members of religious communities and eight missionary priests. St. Mary’s Cathedral, its interior remodeled and redecorated numerous times over the past 100 years, remains overlooking Broadway on the southeast corner of Cathedral Square with a new handicapped accessible entrance. The Square itself, located between Sixth and Seventh streets and Sixth and Seventh avenues north, includes the parish rectory, an office building – the Wanzek Center (formerly St. Mary’s grade school), and the bishop’s residence.

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Adoration Chapel has recently been completed between the Cathedral rectory and the Wanzek Center.

Past and Current Bishops of Fargo Under their name is their respective motto.

Bishop John Shanley 1889-1909

Bishop James O’Reilly 1910-1934

Cardinal Aloisius J. Muench 1935-1960

Bishop Leo F. Dworschak 1960-1970

In the beginning

The Lord of Hosts is with us

Christ in all

Live by Christ

Bishop Justin A. Driscoll 1970-1984

Bishop James S. Sullivan 1985-2002

Bishop Samuel J. Aquila 2002-2012

Bishop John T. Folda 2013- present

To learn and serve Christ

Lord, teach us

Do whatever He tells you

The word was made flesh

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Diocese of Fargo Catholic Directory 2014

Legend Parish with resident clergy Parish without resident clergy Catholic School Catholic Hospital

Statistics Diocesan Priests, active. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Diocesan Priests, retired. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Religious. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Permanent Deacons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Sisters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Parishes with resident priests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Parishes without resident clergy . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Seminarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Elementary Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Students in Cath. ele. school. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,730 Students in Cath. high school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 Baptisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,192 Total Catholic Population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,889