David Dennis Kagan (born November 9, 1949) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the

Diocese of Bismarck The Diocese of Bismarck ( la, Dioecesis Bismarckiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in North Dakota. The current bishop of the diocese is Bishop David Kagan. It is a suffragan diocese in the eccles ...

in North Dakota since 2011.

Biography

Early life and education

David Kagan was born on November 9, 1949, in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, and grew up in

Spring Grove, Illinois Spring Grove is a village in McHenry County. Portions of unincorported Lake County, Illinois also utilize Spring Grove postal addresses. It is a commuter village within the Chicago metropolitan area. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,487 ...

. He received his primary education at Saint Peter School in Spring Grove. Kagan entered the Salvatorian Seminary in

St. Nazianz, Wisconsin St. Nazianz is a village in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1854, the population was 783 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History 19th century St. Nazianz was organized in 1854 ...

, and then studied philosophy at

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...

St. Pius X Seminary The Seminary of St. Pius X (''Latin:'' ''Seminarium Sancti Pii Decimi''), or St. Pius X Seminary (SPXS), is a Filipino Roman Catholic secondary school and seminary in the Lawaan hills, Roxas City, Capiz, in the Philippines, run by the Catholic p ...

in Dubuque, Iowa.

Priesthood

Kagan was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop

Arthur O'Neill Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill (19 September 1876 – 6 November 1914), was an Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician who was the first Member of Parliament to be killed in World War I. Early life O'Neill was the second but eldest surviving son of ...

on June 14, 1975, for the

Diocese of Rockford The Diocese of Rockford ( la, Diœcesis Rockfordiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern Illinois region of the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving as the pastor of the Mother ...

. After his ordination, Kagan served as parish vicar of Saint Patrick Parish in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

, and as a teacher of religious education at

Newman Central Catholic High School Newman Central Catholic High School is a diocesan Catholic high school in Sterling, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. It was founded as St. Mary High School in 1915, a parochial school attached to St. Mary's Pari ...

in Sterling, Illinois (1975–1977). Kagan went to Rome in 1977 to enter the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

and

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He obtained a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate ...

from the Gregorian in 1979. After returning to Illinois, Kagan held the following positions within the diocese: * Teacher of religious education at

Boylan Catholic High School Boylan Central Catholic High School is a private Catholic high school located in Rockford, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1960, Boylan is the only Catholic high school in the city. At the start of the 20102011 school year, there were 1187 stu ...

in Rockford and vice-official of the diocesan tribunal (1979–1984) * Judicial vicar (1984–1994) * Parish administrator of Saint Anne Parish in

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

and of Saint Joseph Parish at Apple River (1984–1985) * Chaplain at the Corpus Christi Monastery of the Poor Clares and parish vicar at St Peter's Cathedral Parish, both in Rockford (1985–1986) * Pastor of Saint Mary Parish in

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

and teacher of ethics at

Saint Anthony College of Nursing The Saint Anthony College of Nursing is a private nursing school affiliated with OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and located in Rockford, Illinois. See also *List of nursing schools in the United States This is a list of nursing schools in ...

in Rockford (1986–1989) * Pastor of the Proto-Cathedral of St James in Rockford (1990–1994) Kagan served as president of the

presbyteral council A presbyteral council or council of priests is a group of priests chosen to assist the local ordinary in an advisory capacity in the governance of a Roman Catholic diocese. Canon 495 of the Code of Canon Law lays down that every diocese must have su ...

and editor of the Diocesan weekly paper. He was admitted to the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

as a knight commander in March 1995. In 1994, Kagan was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

for the diocese by his bishop, as well as

honorary prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

Bishop of Bismarck

Kagan was named bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on October 19, 2011, following the retirement of Bishop Paul Zipfel. He was consecrated at Bismarck's

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, alternatively known as the ''St. Esprit Cathedral'' ( Turkish: ''Saint Esprit Kilisesi''), located on Cumhuriyet Avenue, 127/A, in the quarter of Pangaltı in Şişli district, the former Harbiye, between Taksim ...

on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Archbishop

John Nienstedt John Clayton Nienstedt (born March 18, 1947) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota from 2008 to 2015. He previously served as bishop o ...

was the principal consecrator. Bishop Zipfel and Bishop Thomas G. Doran were the principal co-consecrators. This was the first episcopal consecration at which Archbishop Carlo Vigano represented Pope Benedict XVI as

apostolic nuncio to the United States The Apostolic Nunciature to the United States is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the United States. It is located at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row neighborhood. Since 2016 the nuncio has been ...

References

External links

Diocese of Bismarck

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagan, David 1949 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Living people Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford People from Waukegan, Illinois Roman Catholic bishops of Bismarck Religious leaders from Illinois Knights of the Holy Sepulchre People from Spring Grove, Illinois Catholics from Illinois