Harold Joseph Dimmerling (September 23, 1914 – December 13, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Rapid City The Diocese of Rapid City ( la, Dioecesis Rapidopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota, United States. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (reli ...

in South Dakota from 1969 until his death in 1987. In 2018, the Diocese of Saint Paul announced that it had credible accusations of sexual abuse of a minor against Dimmerling.

Biography

Joseph Dimmerling was born on September 23, 1914 in

Braddock, Pennsylvania Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census. The borough is represented by the Pen ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Saint Cloud The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Clodoaldi) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota, United States. This diocese covers Benton, Douglas, Grant, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Sherb ...

on May 2, 1940. After his ordination, Dimmerling served in pastoral assignments in St. Cloud, Breckenridge, Brushvale, Glenwood,

Villard Villard may refer to: People *Villard (surname) Places France *Villard, Creuse *Villard, Haute-Savoie * Villard-Bonnot, in the Isère department *Villard-de-Lans, in the Isère department * Villard-d'Héry, in the Savoie department * Villard-Lé ...

, and Little Falls, all in Minnesota. He also served at the seminary at

Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, near St. Joseph. The community is located near the junction of Collegeville Road and Old Collegeville Road. Nearby is Saint John's Abb ...

. On September 11, 1969,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

appointed Dimmerling as bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City. He was ordained bishop by Bishop George Speltz on October 30, 1969. Dimmerling established a

permanent diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

program and a lay ministry program and ordained the first Native American deacon in the country. Dimmerling started offices in the diocese for rural life, stewardship and social concerns. He set up a ministry for people who were separated or divorced, and for widows. He also established the ''West River Catholic'' newspaper. Joseph Dimmerling died on December 13, 1987. In November 2018, the Diocese of Saint Cloud announced that it had credible accusations of sexual abuse of a minor against Dimmerling from his tenure as a priest in the diocese.

References

External links

Holy Rosary Mission – Red Cloud Indian School Digital Image Collection
at Marquette University; Keyword: Dimmerling. 1914 births 1987 deaths People from Braddock, Pennsylvania Roman Catholic bishops of Rapid City Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States {{US-RC-bishop-stub