Steven Robert Biegler (born March 22, 1959) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who was appointed Bishop of Cheyenne in 2017.

Biography

Early life

Steven Biegler was born on March 22, 1959, in

Mobridge, South Dakota Mobridge also 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 Located i ...

. 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 2,576 at the 2010 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 went into Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and started course work at

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with an undergraduate residential college in Winona, Minnesota; graduate and professional programs in Winona, the Twin Cities, and Rochester; and various course del ...

, both in

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who s ...

. Biegler graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. After finishing at St. Mary's, he entered the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a 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 priests who are pur ...

in Rome while studying at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Lic ...

degree in 1993 from the Gregorian.

Priesthood

Biegler was ordained to the priesthood for

Diocese of Rapid City The Diocese of Rapid City ( la, Dioecesis Rapidopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota, United States. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Arc ...

on July 9, 1993, by Archbishop

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

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 Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

, 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 Kenel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sandra Kenel (born 1973), Swiss fencer * Vasily Kenel (1834–1893), Russian architect See also *Kenel, South Dakota Kenel is an unincorporated community in Corson County Corson ...

, St. Bede in

Wakpala Wakpala is an unincorporated community in Corson County, South Dakota, United States, on the west side of the Missouri River, north-northwest of Mobridge. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Wakpala has been assigned the ZIP code of 5765 ...

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 A presbyteral council or council of priests is a group of priests chosen to assist the local ordinary in an advisory capacity in the governance of a Roman Catholic diocese. Canon 495 of the Code of Canon Law lays down that every diocese must have ...

for the diocese. In 2003, Biegler was appointed director of apostolic and pastoral formation at the North American College in Rome, serving there until 2006. He remained in Rome until 2007, working as the assistant to the rector of the

Casa Santa Maria The Casa Santa Maria (in full, Casa Santa Maria dell'Umiltà) is a residence in Rome, Italy that serves English-speaking priests who are sent by their dioceses for graduate level studies in the city. It is a part of the Pontifical North American ...

, 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 stude ...

at SDSM&T * Pastoral position at St. Michael Parish in Hermosa, South Dakota 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 Blase Joseph Cupich ( ; March 19, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal who serves as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Cupich was ordained a priest there in 1975. He was name ...

. 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. Histo ...

. He was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

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 ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Biegler to be the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne on March 16, 2017. On June 5, 2017, Biegler was consecrated during an installation mass with Archbishop

Samuel J. Aquila Samuel Joseph Aquila (; born September 24, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado. He previously served as the seventh bishop of the Dioc ...

as consecrator. Biegler is a member of the Jesus Caritas, a fraternal organization for priests. In 2019, Biegler announced that 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 hy ...

, a former bishop of Cheyenne, was being investigated by the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

at the Vatican for allegations of sexual abuse of minors. Hart 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 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(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.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biegler. Steven 1959 births Living people People from Mobridge, South Dakota Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City Catholics from South Dakota 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Bishops appointed by Pope Francis