(Used with permission. Marquette University Archives)

Personal:
Born January 12, 1834, in Schwyz, Switzerland
Ordained to the priesthood, September, 1856
Ordained and installed as first apostolic vicar of the Dakota Territory,
February 1, 1880
Installed as first bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, 1889
Installed as second bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, MN, 1894
Died September 19, 1896, in Luxemburg

History:
Marty came to the U.S. in 1860 and became the first abbot of St. Meinrad's Abbey in Indiana in 1870. He traveled to the Dakota Territory in1876 to help establish a mission on the Standing Rock Reservation. When Marty became apostolic vicar of the Dakota Territory in 1880, the territory was under the jurisdiction of the vicariate of Nebraska. There were only 12 priests in the territory, leading Marty to actively recruit priests from the eastern U.S. and foreign countries. When he became bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, there were fewer than 60 priests in the diocese, which encompassed the entire state of South Dakota.

Most Reverend John J. Stariha

Personal:
Born May 12, 1845, in Austria
Ordained to the priesthood, September 19, 1869
Ordained as first bishop of the Diocese of Lead, October 28, 1902;
installed, November 23, 1902
Resigned as bishop, March 29, 1909; served seven years as bishop
Died November 28, 1915, in Austria

History:
After immigrating to America at age 22, Stariha studied at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After his ordination, he served in parishes in Michigan and Minnesota. The new Diocese of Lead was established on July 28, 1902, and Stariha became the first bishop that same year. There were 17 priests in the new diocese and 25 parishes and missions. When Stariha retired in 1909 due to ill health, there were 25 priests, 53 parishes and missions, and one orphanage in the diocese.

Most Reverend Joseph Busch

Personal:
Born April 18, 1866, in Red Wing, Minnesota
Ordained to the priesthood, 1889
Ordained and installed as second bishop of the Diocese of Lead, May 19, 1910
Resigned as bishop of the Diocese of Lead in 1915; served five years as bishop
Installed as fourth bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, February 21, 1915
Died May 31, 1953, in St. Cloud, Minnesota

History:
When Busch served at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, he organized the Diocesan Mission Band to conduct parish missions. In 1908, he and another priest conducted a mission in Rapid City. After he became bishop of the diocese in 1910, he organized the Country Home Association of South Dakota to help settlers find suitable land. Busch was outspoken about the working conditions of the miners in Lead. During his administration, he recruited seminarians and priests, established more parishes, and divided the diocese into deaneries. In 1914, there were 38 priests, 90 parishes and missions, and eight schools in the diocese.

Most Reverend John J. Lawler

Personal:
Born August 4, 1862, in Rochester, Minnesota
Ordained to the priesthood, 1885
Consecrated as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis,
May 19, 1910
Installed as third bishop of Lead, May 4, 1916
Retired in 1947; served 31 years as bishop
Died March 11, 1948

History:
After his ordination as a priest, Lawler pursued graduate studies in Belgium and served as vice rector of the American College there. When he returned to Minnesota, he became the spiritual director of a seminary, then founding pastor of a parish, then rector of the old St. Paul Cathedral. When he became bishop of the diocese in 1916, Lawler was determined to establish more parishes and schools and to recruit priests to serve in the parishes and mission churches. The see was transferred from Lead to Rapid City on August 1, 1930.There were 107 priests, 87 parishes, ten schools, and two hospitals with nursing schools in the diocese when he retired in 1947.

Note: Fr. Leo F. Dworschak was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Rapid City with the right of succession in 1946. He was transferred to the Diocese of Fargo in 1947.

Most Reverend William T. McCarty, CSsR

History:
A Redemptorist priest, McCarty taught in various colleges and at his seminary in New York. After he became bishop in 1948, one of his major concerns was pastoral care for the Native American Catholics in the diocese. In 1950, he established the Mother Butler Center to serve the spiritual, physical, and health needs of Native Americans living in Rapid City. The Perpetual Help Grade School opened in the fall of 1961. Under his leadership, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was built in 1962 and dedicated in 1963. The chapel at the new St. Martin Monastery, which had been established at the edge of Rapid City by Benedictine Sisters, was also dedicated in 1963.

Most Reverend Harold J. Dimmerling

Personal:
Born September 23, 1914, in Braddock, Pennsylvania
Ordained to the priesthood, May 2, 1940
Ordained and installed as the fifth bishop of Rapid City, October 30, 1969
Died December 13, 1987; served 18 years as bishop

History:
Dimmerling was a diocesan priest in Minnesota and served as a pastor and a hospital chaplain before becoming the spiritual director and rector of a seminary. During his tenure as bishop of the diocese, he implemented several offices and programs, including Rural Life; Stewardship; Social Concerns; Ministry to Separated, Divorced and Widowed; Religious Education; Catholic Social Services, and the West River Catholic newspaper. A permanent diaconate program and a lay ministry program were developed under his leadership. He ordained the first Native American deacon in the U.S. in 1975.

Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., CAP.

Personal:
Born on September 26, 1944, in Concordia, Kansas
Ordained to the priesthood, August 29, 1970
Appointed April 11, 1988; ordained and installed as the sixth bishop of
Rapid City, July 26, 1988;
Served as bishop nine years
Installed as archbishop of Denver, April 7, 1996
Installed as archbishop of Philadelphia, September 8, 2011

History:
After his ordination as a Capuchin friar, Chaput served his order in various positions, including vocations director, vice provincial, and provincial. He was the second man of Native American descent to be ordained a bishop and the first to become the head of a diocese. During his first year as bishop, he established the St. Francis fund to help the poor, formed a diocesan financial advisory board, and expanded the ministry to separated, divorced and widowed into the office of Family Life Ministries. During his second year, he formed the diocesan building commission, the Pro-Life Commission, and the Office of Native Concerns. The Western South Dakota Catholic Foundation was established in 1992. St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City was dedicated in 1995.

Most Reverend Blase J. Cupich

Personal:
Born March 19, 1949, in Omaha, Nebraska
Ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Omaha, August 16, 1975
Appointed July 7, 1998; ordained and installed as eighth bishop of Rapid City,
September 21, 1998; served as bishop 12 years
Appointed June 30, 2010; installed as bishop of the Diocese of Spokane,
September 3, 2010

History:
Cupich served in the Archdiocese of Omaha after his ordination and then was secretary to the apostolic nuncio in Washington, D.C. In 1989, he became president/rector of the Pontifical College Josephinium in Columbus, Ohio. When he became bishop of the diocese, he formed the diocesan youth commission and established the office of inculturation to create ways to incorporate Lakota rituals into the liturgy. Cupich called Synod 2002 to develop goals and strategies for renewing the Catholic faith throughout the diocese. Under his leadership, the We Walk By Faith special appeal was conducted to raise funds to purchase the former Benedictine monastery in Rapid City and renovate it into the Terra Sancta Spiritual Retreat Center and the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary School at Terra Sancta.