John Nepomucene Stariha (May 12, 1845 – November 28, 1915) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the

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 was the first Bishop of Lead,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, serving from 1902 to 1909.

Biography

Early life

John Stariha was born on May 12, 1845, in

Semič Semič (; german: Semitsch,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna. formerly also Semenič) is a settlement in southeastern Slovenia. It is the ad ...

in the

Duchy of Carniola The Duchy of Carniola ( sl, Vojvodina Kranjska, german: Herzogtum Krain, hu, Krajna) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carniola in 1364. A ...

(present-day southeastern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

), the son of John and Anna (née Judnic) Stariha. He received his early education in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

but his studies were interrupted in 1866 when he was drafted into the

Imperial Austrian Army The Imperial-Royal or Imperial Austrian Army (german: Kaiserlich-königliche Armee, abbreviation "K.K. Armee") was strictly speaking, the armed force of the Holy Roman Empire under its last monarch, the Habsburg Emperor Francis II, although in r ...

. He served for seven months and took part at the Battle of Custoza on June 24, 1866. He was awarded a silver medal for bravery, but later deserted the army and fled to the United States. He arrived in New York City in May 1867 and then headed west to

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 ...

. After briefly working as a farmhand to earn money, he was encouraged by his fellow Slovene and former schoolmate

John Vertin John Vertin (July 17, 1844 – February 26, 1899) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette in Michigan, from 1879 until his death in 1899. ...

to enter

Saint Francis de Sales Seminary Saint Francis de Sales Seminary is a seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, located in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, Wisconsin. Its main building, called Henni Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

near

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

. He completed his theological studies there, along with his brother and a cousin.

Priesthood

Stariha was ordained a priest by Bishop

Ignatius Mrak Ignatius Mrak (October 16, 1810 – January 2, 1901) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Saulte Saint Marie and Marquette from 1869 to 1879. Biography Early life Ignatius Mrak was born on Octob ...

on September 19, 1869, in Marquette, Michigan. His first assignment was as an assistant pastor at Saint Paul's Parish in Negaunee, Michigan, where he remained for two years. Stariha came to the Diocese of Saint Paul in September 1871 and served for nine months in Marystown, Minnesota. In June 1872 he became pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Red Wing and the surrounding missions. During his tenure, Stariha built a new church and opened a parochial school to accommodate the growing parish. He received a pardon from Austro-Hungarian Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

in 1879 for deserting the army so that he could visit Slovenia. Stariha remained in Red Wing until January 1884, when he was called to organize St. Francis de Sales Parish in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

for German-speaking immigrants. He built a church, rectory, parochial school, and convent during his time there. In addition to his pastoral duties, he 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' ...

of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in December 1897.

Bishop of Lead

On July 21, 1902, Stariha was appointed by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

to be the first bishop of the newly-created Diocese of Lead in

. The diocese covered the portion of South Dakota west of the Missouri River. Upon receiving the news, he told a Saint Paul newspaper: "The news that I had been made a bishop was wholly unexpected and came as a surprise to me...I have never craved for this position and if I can help it I will not go." Nevertheless, he received his episcopal consecration on the following October 28 from Archbishop

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

, with Bishops Joseph Cotter and

James McGolrick James McGolrick (May 1, 1841 – January 23, 1918) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota, serving from 1889 until his death. Biography Early life James McGolr ...

serving as co-consecrators. During his seven years as bishop, Stariha increased the number of priests in the diocese from 17 to 25 and the number of parishes and missions from 25 to 53. Due to poor health, he moved from his official residence in

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

Hot Springs, South Dakota Hot Springs (Lakota: ''mni kȟáta''; "hot water") is a city in and county seat of Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,395. In addition, neighboring Oglala Lakota County contracts the ...

in 1908.

Retirement and legacy

When his condition failed to improve, Stariha submitted his resignation as bishop of Lead on March 29, 1909, and it was accepted the following month. He was given the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

of ''

Antipatris Antipatris (, grc, Αντιπατρίς) was a city built during the first century BC by Herod the Great, who named it in honour of his father, Antipater. The site, now a national park in central Israel, was inhabited from the Chalcolithic ...

'' by Pope Pius X. Stariha retired to his native Slovenia in May 1909, residing in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

. John Stariha died from apoplexy on November 28, 1915, at age 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stariha, John Catholic Church in South Dakota Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States 1845 births 1915 deaths Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Slovenian expatriates in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Lead 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States