A very happy birthday to the Diocese of Duluth! Our diocese was founded on October 3rd,
1889 by Pope Leo XIII, making us 125 years old this week!
The first bishop of our diocese was the Most Reverend James
McGolrick who hailed from Ireland.
His right-hand man was another missionary from Europe, the Slovenian
Monsignor Joseph Buh, who is considered the patriarch of our diocese.
Our diocese covers over 22,000 square miles, roughly one
quarter of the state of Minnesota and we have a rich history of the
proclamation of the Gospel. Many
missionary priests began ministering to immigrants in the North Country to
support the lumber, mining and trading industries. Of particular note are the ways in which these men also
worked with the Native American population, learning their languages, traveling
with sled dogs and snowshoes to reach remote areas and constructing churches
with little monetary resources.
Our Diocesan Feast Day is on October 7th as this
is the feast of our Patroness—Our Lady Queen of the Rosary. Due to the significance this year
holds, Bishop Paul Sirba has transferred this feast to Sunday, October 5th
in order to celebrate the magnitude of this event on the Lord’s Day. I am planning to add some features to
Mass in order to enhance our celebration.
Additionally, Bishop Sirba will be presiding at a Mass on
Sunday, October 5th at 4:00pm at Our Lady Queen of the Rosary to
celebrate our anniversary. I
encourage and invite you to attend this glorious event (just be sure your
envelopes get turned in here!)
Please take some time to get to know our diocesan history in
the days and weeks to come. For
those wishing to read more about our history I recommend Masinaigans: the little book: A Biography of Monsignor Joseph F. Buh
and Our Diocesan Century—A History of the
Duluth Diocese. Other great
reads about the missionary efforts in the Great Lakes region include Shepherd of the Wilderness: A Biography of
Frederic Baraga and The Diary of
Bishop Frederic Baraga: First Bishop of Marquette, Michigan (Great Lakes Books
Series).
Additionally, be sure to send prayers of gratitude to God
for the many blessings He has given us over the past 125 years.
God Bless and happy birthday!
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