Joseph Maximilian Mueller (December 1, 1894 – August 9, 1981) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Sioux City The Diocese of Sioux City () is the Latin Church diocese for the northwestern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The cathedral parish for this diocese is the Epiphany and the see ...

in Iowa from 1948 to 1970.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Mueller was born on December 1, 1894, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, to George Fritz and Barbara (née Ziegler) Mueller. After graduating from SS. Peter and Paul School at St. Louis in 1907, he studied at the

Pontifical College Josephinum The Pontifical College Josephinum is a Roman Catholic seminary and private university in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded by Joseph Jessing in 1888 to prepare seminarians for the many German-speaking communities in the United States at that time. ...

in Columbus, Ohio.

Priesthood

Mueller was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Belleville The Diocese of Belleville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Southern Illinois region of the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Cath ...

on June 14, 1919. He then served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

at parishes in Carlyle, Mount Carmel, East St. Louis, and Belleville, all in Illinois. In 1926, Mueller was appointed the founding

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Belleville. From 1930 to 1947, he served as rector of St. Peter's Cathedral Parish in Belleville. He was named a

domestic prelate Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

in 1939.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Sioux City

On August 20, 1947, Mueller was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Diocese of Sioux City and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Sinda'' by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. 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 States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on October 16, 1947, from Archbishop

Amleto Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the 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. Cicogn ...

, with Bishops Joseph Schlarman and Edward Hunkeler 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 Churche ...

. On the death of Bishop Edmond Heelan on September 20, 1948, Mueller automatically succeeded him as the third bishop of Sioux City8. As bishop, Mueller built several new schools, churches, and other parish facilities. He also attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in Rome between 1962 and 1965.

Retirement and legacy

On October 20, 1970,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

accepted Mueller's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls and appointed him as titular bishop of Simitthu. He resigned his

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

on January 13, 1971. Joseph Mueller died on August 9, 1981, in Sioux City at age 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Joseph Maximilian 1894 births 1981 deaths Pontifical College Josephinum alumni Clergy from St. Louis Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville American people of German descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic bishops of Sioux City