Steven Robert Biegler (born March 22, 1959) 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

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 ...

who was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming in 2017.

Biography

Early life

Steven Biegler was born on March 22, 1959, in

Mobridge, South Dakota Mobridge, also known as Kȟowákataŋ Otȟúŋwahe (Lakota: ''Kȟowákataŋ Otȟúŋwahe''; lit. "Over-the-River Town"), is a city in Walworth County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,261 according to the 2020 census. History ...

. He is one of 13 children of Alfred and Mary Biegler. He attended Timber Lake High School in

Timber Lake, South Dakota Timber Lake (Lakota: ''Blečháŋ''; "Tree Lake") is a city in and the county seat of Dewey County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 509 at the 2020 census. History Timber Lake was founded in 1910 with the arrival of the Chicag ...

, then entered

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines, SD Mines, or SDSM&T) is a public university in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and was founded in 1885. South Dakota Mines offers b ...

(SDSM&T) in Rapid City, South Dakota. After one year in college, Biegler went to work on the family farm for the next eight years. He then spent time in a construction crew filling in abandoned coal mines around

Glenrock, Wyoming Glenrock is a town in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,420 at the 2020 census. History Glenrock, known as Deer Creek Station, had its beginning as a mail and stage station along the Oregon Trail. The station served ...

. By 1986, Biegler had decided to enter the priesthood. He entered Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and started course work at

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with its primary campuses in Winona and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It comprises an undergraduate residential college in Winona; graduate and professio ...

, both in

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

. Biegler graduated from Saint Mary's in 1989 with a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

degree. After finishing at St. Mary's, he entered 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 ...

in Rome while studying at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. He received 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 from the Gregorian.

Priesthood

Biegler was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rapid City on July 9, 1993, by Archbishop

Charles Chaput Charles Joseph Chaput OFMCap ( ; born September 26, 1944) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as arc ...

at Holy Cross Church in Timber Lake. After his ordination, Biegler had numerous pastoral assignments in South Dakota parishes: * Associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral Parish in Rapid City from 1993 to 1994 * Administrator for three parishes: Immaculate Conception in Bonesteel, St. Anthony's in Fairfax, and St. Francis Xavier in Ponca Creek, from 1996 to 2003 * Co-pastor at St. Bernard in McLaughlin and St. Bonaventure in McIntosh from 2001 to 2003 * Pastoral assignments at St. Aloysius in Bullhead, Assumption of the BVM in Kenel, St. Bede in Wakpala and St. Michael in Watauga from 2001 to 2003 In addition to his pastoral assignments, Biegler served on the

college of consultors A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

and the presbyteral council for the diocese. In 2003, Biegler returned to Rome to serve as director of apostolic and pastoral formation at the North American College, serving there until 2006. He remained in Rome until 2007, working as the assistant to the rector of the Casa Santa Maria, a residence for priests at the college. Biegler returned to Rapid City in 2007 to assume several posts: * Chaplain for the Rapid City Catholic Schools * Chaplain for the

Newman Center Newman Centers, Newman Houses, Newman Clubs, or Newman Communities are Catholic campus ministry centers at secular universities. The movement was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman encouraging societies for Catholic studen ...

at SDSM&T * Pastoral position at St. Michael Parish in

Hermosa, South Dakota Hermosa is a town near the northern edge of Custer County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 382 at the 2020 census. History Hermosa was developed by the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, later acquired by the Chicag ...

In 2009, Biegler resumed his work on the college of consultors and the, presbyteral council. He gave up his chaplaincy and pastoral assignments in 2010 to serve for one year as diocesan administrator after the departure of Bishop Blase J. Cupich. With the installation of a new bishop, Biegler was appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Black Hills Parish in

Piedmont, South Dakota Piedmont is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 971. Piedmont lies along Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Sturgis. Piedmont has been assigned the ZIP Code of 57769. Histor ...

. Bishop Robert Gruss named Biegler as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

for the diocese in 2013. He was moved from Our Lady in 2015 to become pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish and of St. Michael Parish.

Bishop of Cheyenne

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 ...

appointed Biegler as the ninth bishop of Cheyenne on March 16, 2017. On June 5, 2017, Biegler was consecrated during an installation mass at the Cheyenne Civic Center in Cheyenne. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila was his consecrator, with Gruss and Bishop

Paul D. Etienne Paul Dennis Étienne (born June 15, 1959) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Seattle since 2019. He was previously Bishop of Cheyenne from 2009 to 2016 and Archbishop of Anchorage from 2016 to 2019. Early life ...

serving as co-consecrators. Biegler is a member of the Jesus Caritas, a fraternal organization for priests. Soon after taking office, Biegler ordered the diocese to reexamine sexual abuse allegations against Bishop Emeritus

Joseph Hart Joseph Hart (1711/12 – 24 May 1768) was a Calvinist minister in London. His works include ''Hart's Hymns'', a much-loved hymn book amongst evangelical Christians throughout its lifetime of over 200 years, which includes the well-known h ...

, a former bishop of Cheyenne. In 2019, Biegler announced that the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

at the Vatican was investigating Hart, who denied all the accusations. In 2021, the Congregation exonerated Hart of several charges and said it had insufficient evidence to prove several others. It reprimanded Hart for bad decision-making. Local prosecutors declined to indict Hart on any crimes. After the Congregation's decision, Biegler stated that he believed the victims. In the 2019 Fall meeting of the

U.S. 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 Co ...

(USCCB), Biegler said that priests needed to refocus their efforts on being pastors, to rebuild trust in the church in the wake of the sexual abuse scandals. In 2022, after the

Wyoming Legislature The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 62-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 31-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at ...

passed a bill severely limiting access to abortion procedures in that state, Biegler called on state legislators to provide more assistance to needy pregnant mothers and their children.

References

External links