Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm


The Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm is a Roman Catholic diocese in western Minnesota, United States. The current bishop of the diocese is Bishop John M. LeVoir. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The See city for the diocese is New Ulm. The Cathedral parish is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.
The diocese has a very rural nature. The largest town in the diocese is Willmar at 19,610, New Ulm is, after Hutchinson and Marshall, the 4th largest city. There are no Catholic colleges or universities situated in the diocese.

History

The diocese was founded on November 18, 1957, by Pope Pius XII. Its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul.

Sexual Abuse and Bankruptcy

On March 29, the Diocese released the names of 16 clergy, 13 of whom were by then deceased, who were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors. In April 2016, three more priests were added to the list. On March 3, 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy following numerous lawsuits surrounding sex abuse by Catholic clergy in the area. New Ulm follows the Duluth Diocese and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which both filed for bankruptcy in 2015, thus making Minnesota the first state in the United States of America to have three Catholic dioceses filed for bankruptcy. At the time of its bankruptcy, 21 priests who served in the Diocese of New Ulm were credibly accused of sexually abuse, with the majority of accusations stemming from the 1950s to 1970s. However, the lawsuits against the diocese accused approximately 90 priests of sexual abusing 101 victims. In June 2019, it was agreed that 93 of these victims would receive $34 million as part of a settlement. The settlement was officially approved by a bankruptcy judge in March 2020.

Bishops

Bishops of New Ulm

The list of bishops of the diocese and their terms of service: