busch_lgMost Reverend Joseph Busch

Second Bishop of the Diocese

Motto: Unknown

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.