Joseph Leopold Imesch (June 21, 1931 – December 22, 2015) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

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 ...

who served as bishop of the

Diocese of Joliet The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois ( la, Diœcesis Joliettensis in Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the state of Illinois in the United States. The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois is a suff ...

in Illinois from 1979 to 2006. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

in Michigan from 1973 to 1979.

Biography

Early life and education

Joseph Imesch was born on June 21, 1931, in

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Grosse Pointe Farms is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,479 at the 2010 census. As part of the Grosse Pointe collection of cities, it is a northeastern city of Metro Detroit and shares a small wester ...

to Dionys and Margaret (née Margelisch) Imesch. After attending St. Ambrose Parish school and St. Paul Elementary School in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, he entered Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College in Detroit. Imesch graduated from Sacred Heart with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1953. He then continued his studies at the Pontifical North American College in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Ordination and ministry

While in Rome, Imesch was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Detroit on December 16, 1956, by Bishop Martin J. O’Connor in the Chapel of the North American College. He earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology there in 1957. Following his return to Michigan, Imesch served as an assistant pastor at St. Charles Parish in Detroit. In 1959, he became private secretary to Cardinal

John Dearden John Francis Dearden (October 15, 1907 – August 1, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980, and was created a cardinal in 1969. He previously served as Bishop of Pittsb ...

, a position he held until 1971. In 1971, Imesch left his post as private secretary to become pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in

Farmington, Michigan Farmington is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 10,372. It is surrounded by Farmington ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

On February 8, 1973, Imesch was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''Pomaria'' by

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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on April 3, 1973, from Cardinal Dearden, with Bishops Walter Schoenherr and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

serving as co-consecrators. He continued to serve at Our Lady of Sorrows until becoming regional bishop of the Northwest Region of the archdiocese in 1977.

Bishop of Joliet

On June 30, 1979, Imesch was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Joliet by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. His installation took place at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet on August 28, 1979. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB), he served as chair of the Committee on Women in Society and the Church (1982–1985), the Committee Writing the Pastoral on the Concerns of Women (1983–92), and the Committee for Pastoral Practices (1995–1998). Imesch was also a member of the Marriage and Family Life Committee (1994–1997), the Committee for Stewardship (1995-2002), and the Administrative Board (2001–2003). From 2001 to 2003, he served as chair of Region VII, which includes dioceses in Illinois,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Soon after arriving in Joliet, Imesch worked with other community leaders to create the Daybreak Shelter for the homeless. Every month, Imesch would visit the shelter to serve meals and converse with its clients. He started the first Diocesan Annual Appeal in 1986 and in 1996 founded the Joliet Diocesan Catholic Education Foundation. Imesch started a sister relationship with the Diocese of Sucre in Bolivia, helping build and staff a hospital there.

Retirement and legacy

Shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops, Imesch sent a letter of resignation to the pope. Pope Benedict VI accepted his resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Joliet on May 16, 2006. Imesch was succeeded by Bishop

J. Peter Sartain James Peter Sartain (born June 6, 1952), better known as Peter Sartain, is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washington State from 2010 to 2019. He previously ...

. After his retirement, Imesch continued to perform confirmations and other pastoral duties. During a sexual abuse case against the Diocese of Joliet, Imesch admitted in sworn depositions to having transferred to different parishes priests accused of sexual abuse of minors. He never suspended any of them from ministry and did not report them to law enforcement. The diocese settled the case for $1.4 million. Joseph Imesch eventually moved to Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet, where he died on December 22, 2015 at age 84.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit WebsiteRoman Catholic Diocese of Jolietbishop who led flock of pervert priests dies"
patch.com * http://patch.com/illinois/joliet/imeschs-failure-ultimately-matter-trust-0 {{DEFAULTSORT:Imesch, Joseph Leopold 1931 births 2015 deaths People from Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Joliet in Illinois Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Sacred Heart Major Seminary alumni Religious leaders from Michigan Catholics from Michigan