Robert Dwayne Gruss (born June 25, 1955) is 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 has served as the seventh bishop of the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit. The D ...

in Michigan since 2019. Gruss previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota from 2011 to 2019.

Biography

Bishop Gruss Rural Life Mass 2023 Octagon Barn

Bishop Gruss on Harley Motorcycle for Charity Ride

Early life

Robert Gruss was born in

Texarkana, Arkansas Texarkana is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Miller County, on the southwest border of the state. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 29,387. It is the twin city of Texarkana, Texas, located just acros ...

on June 25, 1955. He attended

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College, or simply Madison College or MATC, is a public technical college in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It serves students in south-central Wisconsin and is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System. The co ...

in Madison, Wisconsin, earning an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

. Gruss then received his commercial pilot license from the

Spartan School of Aeronautics Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology (Spartan) is a private for-profit aviation college with its main campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Satellite campuses are in Inglewood, California, Broomfield, Colorado, and Riverside, Califo ...

in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked as a flight instructor and commercial

airline pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

from 1980 to 1989. After deciding to enter the priesthood, Gruss enrolled at

St. Ambrose University St. Ambrose University (SAU) is a private university, private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and scho ...

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

degree in 1990. He traveled to Rome to attend the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Bachelor of Sacred Theology (abbreviated STB) is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred by a number o ...

degree in 1993 and a Master in Spiritual Theology degree in 1994.

Priesthood

After returning to Iowa, Gruss was ordained a priest for the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The current bishop of D ...

by Bishop

William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged extra-marital son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial G ...

at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport on July 2, 1994. After his 1994 ordination, the diocese assigned Gruss as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in

. He served the same role for three parishes in central Iowa from 1997 to 1998; * St. Anthony in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

* Sacred Heart in Melcher * St. Mary in

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

. He was appointed pastor at St. Mary in 1999. Bishop

appointed Gruss as vocations director in 2004 and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 2005.

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 ...

named him a

chaplain of his holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

, with the title of monsignor, in August 2007. Gruss returned to Rome in 2007 to serve as vice-rector of the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

. Back in Iowa in 2010, he was assigned as pastor and rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Bishop of Rapid City

Gruss was named the bishop of Rapid City by Benedict XVI on May 26, 2011. His episcopal consecration took place on July 28, 2011, at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. Archbishop

John Nienstedt John Clayton Nienstedt (born March 18, 1947) is an American retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 2008 until his resignation in 2015 due to his role in the clergy child sex abuse cri ...

was the consecrating bishop, and Bishops Martin Amos and Samuel Aquila were the co-consecrators. In 2017, Gruss opened the cause for the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

medicine man Nicholas Black Elk.

Bishop of Saginaw

Gruss was named the bishop of Saginaw by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on May 24, 2019. Gruss was installed on July 26, 2019. In remarks to the media, Gruss made this statement about

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 ...

by priests:

“There is no place in the church for sexual abuse of minors or anyone else, My desire is that the Church becomes holy in the way that Christ calls her to be, and those who abuse their power and authority are held to accountability.”

In an appearance on ''Cause for Joy,'' a diocesan podcast, Gruss revealed his hobbies of riding "horses and Harleys".

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw Official Site

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruss, Robert Dwayne 1955 births Living people People from Texarkana, Arkansas People from Madison, Wisconsin People from Davenport, Iowa Madison Area Technical College alumni St. Ambrose University alumni Pontifical North American College alumni Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Roman Catholic bishops of Rapid City Roman Catholic bishops of Saginaw Catholics from Wisconsin Catholics from Oklahoma Catholics from Iowa Catholics from Arkansas