Paul Albert Zipfel (September 22, 1935 – July 14, 2019) 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 the sixth bishop of the

Diocese of Bismarck The Diocese of Bismarck () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western North Dakota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The ...

in North Dakota from 1997 to 2011. Zipfel served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Saint Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of November 2024, the archdiocese is led by Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozans ...

from 1989 to 1996.

Biography

Early life

Paul Zipfel was born on September 22, 1935, 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 Albert and Leona (née Rau) Zipfel. He had two older siblings, Ralph and Marion. Paul Zipfel attended St. Michael's Elementary School from 1940 to 1949, and afterwards entered the St. Louis Preparatory Seminary. Zipfel then studied at Kenrick Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri (1955–1957) and the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C. (1957–1961).

Priesthood

Zipfel 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 Archdiocese of St. Louis on March 18, 1961. Zipfel obtained his

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred ...

in June 1961 and completed his graduate studies at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

from 1963 to 1965, earning a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

. From 1961 to 1989, Zipfel did

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

work in the archdiocese as an associate

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 ...

, pastor,

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and administrator at various

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

and

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis

On May 16, 1989, Zipfel was appointed

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of St. Louis 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 Walla Walla by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on the following June 29 from Archbishop John May, with Bishops

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming ...

and Steib 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 ...

Bishop of Bismarck

Zipfel was named the sixth Bishop of Bismarck,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, on December 31, 1996, being installed on February 20, 1997. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

, Zipfel sat on the Administrative Committee and the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee. In June 2002, Zipfel introduced a zero tolerance policy of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

allegations against priests in the diocese. Anyone accused of abuse would be immediately removed from active ministry and reported to the police for investigation.

Retirement and legacy

Zipfel's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck was accepted by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on October 19, 2011, and he was succeeded by

David Kagan David Dennis Kagan (born November 9, 1949) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Bismarck since 2011. Biography Early life and education David Kagan was born on November 9, 1949, in Waukegan, Illinois, and grew up ...

. In retirement, Bishop Zipfel took up residence in Saint Joseph's Hall at the

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It h ...

in Bismarck, where he provided sacramental and spiritual service to students. In 2012, Zipfel was diagnosed with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. His family and the Diocese of Bismarck decided to move him back to St. Louis to be closer to family. Zipfel lived at Mother of Good Counsel Home in

Normandy, Missouri Normandy is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,287 at the 2020 census. History The city of Normandy is on land once owned by Charles Lucas. Lucas obtained property from the federal government with land ...

. Zipfel died on July 14, 2019.

References

External links

Diocese of BismarckDiocese of Bismarck-archive
*

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zipfel, Paul Albert 1935 births 2019 deaths Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Catholic University of America alumni Saint Louis University alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis American people of German descent Clergy from St. Louis Roman Catholic bishops of Bismarck 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Missouri