Lambert Anthony Hoch (February 6, 1903 – June 27, 1990) 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 'pref ...

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 served as Bishop of Bismarck (1952–1956) and Bishop of Sioux Falls (1956–1978).

Biography

Early life

Lambert Hoch was born on February 6, 1903, in Elkton,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, to George and Philomena (née Kniest) Hoch, the youngest of their nine children. After graduating from Elkton High School, he entered

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

at Omaha, Nebraska in 1920. He earned 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 years ...

degree from Creighton in 1924, and then studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Priesthood

Hoch 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 va ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Sioux Falls by Bishop

Bernard Mahoney Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

on May 30, 1928. Hoch then served as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at Columbus College until 1929, when he became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Immaculate Conception Parish in

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

. In 1933 he was named

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the diocese. In addition to his duties as chancellor, he served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of McKennan Hospital for eleven years. He was raised to the rank of

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1943.

Bishop of Bismarck

On January 23, 1952, Hoch was appointed the third Bishop of Bismarck,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on the following March 25 from Archbishop

Amleto Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. C ...

, with Bishops William O. Brady and Francis Schenk serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. He was the first native South Dakotan to become a Catholic bishop. Hoch was installed by Archbishop John Murray at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on April 2, 1952. During his four-year-long tenure, Hoch worked to promote vocations to the priesthood and

religious life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...

; between 1952 and 1960, 29 priests were ordained for the diocese and13 for Assumption Abbey in

Richardton, North Dakota Richardton is a city in Stark County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 692 at the 2020 census. Richardton was founded in 1883. It is part of the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area. Richardton is home to Assumption Abbey, ...

Bishop of Sioux Falls

Hoch was named the fifth Bishop of Sioux Falls on November 27, 1956, by Pius XII. He was installed on December 5, 1956. He attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in Rome between 1962 and 1965, and dedicated much of his administration to implementing the Council's reforms. Hoch fostered

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

relations with other faiths and helped establish the South Dakota Association of Christian Churches. In 1963, he

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

and

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

the

Fischer quintuplets The Fischer quintuplets also known as the Fischer quints, were the first surviving quintuplets in the United States. They are Mary Ann (named after their mother), Mary Magdalene, Mary Catherine, James Andrew, and Mary Margaret. The news of the ...

, who were the first known surviving set of American

quintuplets ''Quintuplets'' is an American sitcom that aired 22 episodes on Fox from June 16, 2004 to January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff and shared some of their experiences parenting teenage quintuplets. Synopsis The ...

Retirement and legacy

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Hoch resigned as bishop on June 13, 1978. Lambert Hoch died after a long illness at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls on June 27, 1990, at age 87. In 2003, it was revealed that Hoch sent Bruce McArthur, a Diocese of Sioux Falls priest, to treatment twice after accusations of sexually molesting children in 1963 and 1965. Hoch did not report McArthur to police or to the parishioners. In 1978, McArthur was sentenced to 23 months in Texas state prison for sexually assaulting a woman in a nursing home.

References

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoch, Lambert Anthony 1903 births 1990 deaths Creighton University alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni People from Brookings County, South Dakota Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Sioux Falls Roman Catholic bishops of Bismarck