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Diocese of Saint Cloud

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The Diocese of Saint Cloud (Latin: Dioecesis Sancti Clodoaldi) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in central Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Its mother church is the Cathedral of St. Mary in St. Cloud. The diocese's patron saint is St. Clodoald. Patrick Neary has been the bishop since 2023.

Diocese of Saint Cloud

Dioecesis Sancti Clodoaldi
Cathedral of St Mary
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryMinnesota 16 counties in central Minnesota
Ecclesiastical provinceSaint Paul and Minneapolis
Statistics
Area12,251 sq mi (31,730 km2)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2010)
  • 558,890
  • 142,576 (25.5%)
Parishes135
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedSeptember 22, 1889 (136 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary
Patron saintClodoald
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
BishopPatrick Neary
Metropolitan ArchbishopBernard Hebda
Bishops emeritusDonald Joseph Kettler
Map
Website
stclouddiocese.org

Territory

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The Diocese of Saint Cloud covers Benton, Douglas, Grant, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, and Wilkin counties.

History

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1800 to 1870

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Central Minnesota went through several Catholic jurisdictions before the Vatican erected the Diocese of Saint Cloud:

The first mass in the St. Cloud area was offered by Francis de Vivaldi, a missionary to the Winnebago reservation in Long Prairie in 1851. The mass took place inside a log cabin owned by James Keough.[2] Keough later recalled,

The congregation present was made up of Irish and French Canadians. The altar was prepared by a half-breed (sic) lady, the wife of a Canadian Frenchman. I am the owner of the table used as an altar on that occasion. Some time after this Father Pierz came among us, and subsequently built the first Catholic church at Sauk Rapids.[2]

In 1852, Bishop Joseph Crétin of Saint Paul sent the missionary priest Francis Xavier Pierz to the Ojibwe Nation (Chippewa). Pierz was put in charge of an apostolate in central and northern Minnesota with a large Native American congregation. To attract more European Catholics to the area, he wrote articles in German newspapers about the availability of good agricultural land in Minnesota. By 1855, many German, Slovene, and Luxembourger settlers started arriving in the region.[3] In 1856, five monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, arrived in St. Cloud to minister to the German settlers. They established Saint John's college in 1857 in Collegeville.[4]

1870 to 1900

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Diocesan Pastoral Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota (2019)

On February 12, 1875, Pope Pius IX established the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota. The pope named Abbot Rupert Seidenbusch, leader of the Abbey of St. Louis on the Lake, as the vicar apostolic. [5]His jurisdiction covered all of present-day Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

After his consecration, Seidenbusch traveled across the vicariate by buggy, wagon, and rail and continued to solicit donations from Europe.[6] He used Saint Mary's Church in St. Cloud as his temporary cathedral, administering confirmation for the first time there in 1875.[7] He performed his first ordinations of seminarians at Saint John's College in 1876.[7] Seidenbusch oversaw the completion of Holy Angels Cathedral in 1884.[7] During his term, the Vatican removed the Dakotas and erected the Diocese of Duluth from the vicariate. Seidenbusch retired due to poor health in 1888.

Bishop Trobec (1921)

On September 22, 1888, Pope Leo XIII suppressed the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota. to erect the Diocese of Saint Cloud.[8][9] John Zardetti, general vicar of the Vicariate of Dakota, became the first bishop of Saint Cloud. Zardetti immediately started construction of Holy Angels Cathedral in St. Cloud. He worked to enlarge the parochial school system and publish a newspaper for the diocese.[10]

The Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict in 1886 opened St. Benedict Hospital in St. Cloud.[11] In 1889, the Benedictine brothers opened St. Benedict's Academy in St. Cloud. which became St. Benedict's College in 1913.[12]

1900 to 1950

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The Sisters of St. Benedict in 1900 replaced St. Benedict Hospital with the larger St. Raphael Hospital.[11]Suffering from the cold climate, the Vatican allowed Zardetti in 1894 to resign as bishop and return to Rome to serve in the Roman Curia.[13]

Leo XIII named Bishop Martin Marty of the Diocese of Sioux Falls as the second bishop of Saint Cloud in 1895.[14] Already ill when he took office, Marty died less than two years later in 1896. Leo XIII appointed James Trobec of St. Paul in 1897 to replace Marty.[15]

Trobec led the diocese through a time of growth, with a particular focus on priestly vocations and Catholic education.[16] By 1911, the Catholic population of the diocese had grown by 25,000, the number of priests and parishes had each increased by 35, and the diocese had two new hospitals.[17]

After Trobec retired in 1914, Bishop Joseph Francis Busch of the Diocese of Lead became Saint Cloud's next bishop.[18]St. Raphael Hospital was replaced in 1928 by St. Cloud Hospital.[11] It is today CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital. In 1937, St. Mary's Church in St. Cloud was designated as the Cathedral of Saint Mary, replacing Holy Angels Cathedral.[19] In 1941, Peter William Bartholome was named coadjutor bishop to assist Busch.[20]

1950 to present

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Bishop Kettler (2013)

After 38 years as bishop, Busch died in 1953. Bartholome succeeded him as bishop of Saint Cloud.[20] In 1966, Auxiliary Bishop George Henry Speltz from the Diocese of Winona was appointed coadjutor bishop. When Bartholome retired in 1971, Speltz took his place.[21] In 1984, Speltz refused to allow Catholic weddings for couples who cohabitated before marriage.[22] Speltz retired in 1987 due to poor health.[21]

Abbot Jerome Hanus of Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri took office as the next bishop of Saint Cloud in 1987.[23] In 1994, Hanus became the coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.[24] In 1995, Bishop John Francis Kinney of the Diocese of Bismarck replaced Hanus in Saint Cloud. Kinney retired in 2013.

Pope Francis named Bishop Donald Joseph Kettler of the Diocese of Fairbanks as bishop of Saint Cloud in 2013. He retired in 2022.[25]Francis in 2023 named Patrick Neary of the Congregation of Holy Cross as the next bishop of St. Cloud.[26]

Neary in 2026 announced the merger of the 131 parishes in the diocese into 48 parish groups. The reasons for the restructuring were the shortage of priests, the drop in parish enrollments and the financial distress of many parishes.[27]

Sex abuse cases and bankruptcy

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2000 to 2020

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In 2007, police received a complaint from an 18-year-old man who had been receiving anonymous obscene and suggestive letters. The letters were traced to John Lloyd Caskey, a priest in Morris. When police searched Caskey's residence, they discovered 8,600 images of child pornography on his personal computer. He was arrested shortly thereafter and suspended from ministry by Bishop Kinney.[28] Caskey pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2009 to one month in jail and five years' probation.[29]

In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Minnesota Child Victims Act of 2013, lifting the previous civil statute of limitations for child abuse sexual allegations until 2016,[30] and allowing individuals to file lawsuits on old claims. In 2015, two women sued the diocese, claiming that they had been sexually abused by Donald Rieder, a priest from Randall, when they were minors in the 1960s.[31] Rieder was convicted in 2003 of sexual abuse of a minor and spent one year in prison.[32]

In 2016, the diocese turned over 13,500 documents related to sexual abuse allegations against its priests to law enforcement.[33] In August 2018, the diocese announced its cooperation with a proposed grand jury investigation to disclose names of accused priests.[33]The diocese in June 2020 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[34]The Catholic Charities affiliate in St. Cloud sued the diocese in 2018. Four years earlier, the diocese had committed to transferring ownership of the St. Cloud Children’s Home to Catholic Charities. Based on that agreement, the charity had spent a large amount of money updating the facility. The point of the lawsuit was to ensure that the ownership was indeed transferred.[35] In December 2020, the bankruptcy court approved a bankruptcy plan for the diocese.[36]

2020 to present

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In May 2020, the diocese reached a $22.5 million settlement plan for 70 sexual abuse survivors.[37] The same day, Bishop Kettler apologized to the victims for the harm they suffered. He said that he remained committed to "assist in the healing of all those who have been hurt."[37] In 2022, the diocese published an updated list of diocesan clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[38]

In December 2025, the priest Joseph Paul Herzing was charged with one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of stalking, and three counts of threats of violence related to a woman. He hade allegedly sexually abused her while providing spiritual counseling between 2018 and 2022. The diocese had learned of the alleged abuse in October 2022, but only placed Herzing on leave until June 2023. At that time, Bishop Neary allowed him to return to work with limited responsibilities at four parishes in Cold Spring, Rockville, Richmond, and Jacobs Prairie.[39]

Despite the abuse allegation, Neary later assigned Herzing as pastor of five parishes in Browerville, Clarissa, Grey Eagle, Long Prairie, and Swanville. St. Cloud police began investigating the 2022 abuse allegations in August 2024. When Neary learned about the police investigation in September 2024, he allowed Herzing to continue serving as pastor with restrictions and monitoring. The diocese did not place Herzing on leave again until his indictment in November 2024.[39]

Coat of arms

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Coat of arms of Diocese of Saint Cloud
Escutcheon
France ancient, thereon a chalice argent, the bowl charged with a cross-ancrée sable
Symbolism
The arms of the diocese are based on the retroactive arms of Clovis and Clodomir, with a chalice added indicating St. Clodoaldus's priesthood.[40]

Bishops

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Vicar Apostolic of Northern Minnesota

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Bishops of Saint Cloud

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Coadjutor bishops

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Auxiliary bishop

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Other diocesan priests who became bishops

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Education

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The Diocese of Saint Cloud has two institutions of higher learning, a school of theology, 27 elementary schools, and two high schools.

Higher education

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High schools

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References

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  1. ↑ "Diocese of Duluth". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  2. 1 2 "Early Parish History", St. Cloud Times, 10 June 1885, Page 3.
  3. ↑ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Saint Cloud" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  4. ↑ "Saint John's Abbey :: Abbey History". Saintjohnsabbey.org. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  5. ↑ "Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  6. ↑ "Bishop Rupert Seidenbusch, O.S.B." Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud.
  7. 1 2 3 Mitchell, William Bell (1915). History of Stearns County, Minnesota. Cornell University.
  8. ↑ "Diocese of Saint Cloud". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  9. ↑ "Diocese of Saint Cloud". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  10. ↑ Mitchell, William Bell (1915). History of Stearns County, Minnesota. H.C. Cooper, Jr.
  11. 1 2 3 Maurice, Jim (2011-02-09). "This Date In Central Minnesota History: February 9th, 1928". AM 1240 WJON. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  12. ↑ Renner, OSB, Emmanuel (2001). "A Brief History of the College of Saint Benedict". CSB Archives. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  13. ↑ "Archbishop John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  14. ↑ "Bishop Martin Marty [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  15. ↑ "Bishop James Trobec [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  16. ↑ "Bishop James Trobec". Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud.
  17. ↑ Trunk, Rev. J.M. "Prominent Slovenes". Foundation for East European Family History Studies. Slovenian Genealogy Society International.
  18. ↑ Cheney, David M. "Bishop Joseph Francis Busch". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  19. ↑ Becker, Chase M. (2013-05-15). "A Newly Refurbished Interior for St. Mary Cathedral in St. Cloud, MN". Home. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  20. 1 2 Cheney, David M. "Bishop Peter William Bartholome". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  21. 1 2 "Bishop George Henry Speltz [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  22. ↑ "GEORGE SPELTZ WAS BISHOP OF ST. CLOUD DIOCESE". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 2004-02-04.
  23. ↑ "Archbishop Jerome George Hanus [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  24. ↑ "Archbishop Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "Bishop John Francis Kinney [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  26. ↑ "Bishop Patrick Michael Neary [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  27. ↑ "Central Minnesota diocese to merge 131 parishes into 48 parish groups". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  28. ↑ Unze, David (February 1, 2008). "Porn Case Ends Priest's Work". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  29. ↑ "Priest Sentenced". KSAX. May 11, 2009. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  30. ↑ "St. Cloud is 4th Minnesota diocese to declare bankruptcy amid abuse lawsuits". Catholic News Agency. March 5, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Diocese Of St. Cloud Facing 2 New Lawsuits Over Sexual Abuse Claims". www.cbsnews.com. August 24, 2015. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  32. ↑ Landsverk, Gabby (August 29, 2015). "Randall parish, St. Cloud Diocese charged as new victims of sexually-abusive priest come forward". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  33. 1 2 Dickrell, Stephanie (August 22, 2018). "Sex abuse survivors' attorney calls on Dayton for probe of all Minnesota Catholic dioceses". St. Cloud Times.
  34. ↑ Simon-Johnson, Barb (2020-06-15). "June 15, 2020 – Diocese files for Chapter 11 Reorganization". Diocese of Saint Cloud. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  35. ↑ "In Minnesota, Catholic Charities sues near-bankrupt diocese". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  36. ↑ Simon-Johnson, Barb (2020-06-15). "Statements". Diocese of Saint Cloud. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  37. 1 2 Marohn, Kristi (May 26, 2020). "St. Cloud diocese reaches agreement on sex abuse claims". MPR News.
  38. ↑ Simon-Johnson, Barb (2018-11-12). "List of clergy likely to have abused minors". Diocese of Saint Cloud. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  39. 1 2 Judd, Jake (December 29, 2025). "Central Minnesota Priest Makes First Hearing After Felony Charges Filed, Prosecutors Seek Aggravated Sentence in Abuse Case". KNSI. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  40. ↑ Heuser, Herman Joseph (1915). "Some Recent Episcopal Arms". The American Ecclesiastical Review. LIII (July). The Dolphin Press: 79. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
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