Victor Hermann Balke
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Victor Herman Balke (September 29, 1931) is a
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 ...
who served as bishop of the Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota from 1976 to 2007.


Biography


Early life

Born on September 29, 1931, in
Meppen, Illinois Meppen is an unincorporated community in Calhoun County, Illinois, United States. Meppen is north of Brussels. St. Joseph's Cemetery is located in Meppen. History The community was named after the city of Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ...
(in Calhoun County), Victor Balke's parents were Elizabeth Knese and Bernard Balke Sr. He attended St. Joseph Grade School in Meppen as well as the Monterey Grade School. Balke graduated from Hardin County High School in 1949 and entered seminary in September 1949.


Priesthood

Balke was ordained into the priesthood on May 24, 1958, by Bishop William A. O’Connor for the Diocese of Springfield. Following his ordination, Balke served as assistant pastor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish for four years and was
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
at St. Joseph Home for the Aged. Later, he was named procurator, and then rector of the diocesan Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
. He served on the Matrimonial Tribunal as synodal judge and defender of the bond. He was also chair of the diocesan Commission on Ecumenism and secretary-treasurer of the priests’ council.


Bishop of Crookston

Balke was appointed as the sixth bishop of Crookston by
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 ...
on July 3, 1976. He was consecrated by Archbishop John Roach on September 2, 1976. After reaching his 75th birthday, the mandatory retirement age for bishops, Balke submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Crookston to
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 ...
. The pope accepted Balke's resignation on September 28, 2007. Balke remained as
apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of the diocese until Reverend Michael Hoeppner was installed as its new bishop on November 30, 2007.


See also

*
Catholic Church hierarchy The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...
*
Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Pope Leo XIV, Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , t ...
*
Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
*
List of Catholic bishops of the United States The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. The list also includes bishops in the American territories of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Cath ...
*
Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops This is a directory of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops across various Christian denominations. To find an individual who was a bishop, see the most relevant article linked below or :Bishops. Lists Catholic * Bishops in the Catholic Chu ...


References


External links


Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston Official Site


Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balke, Victor Herman 1931 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Crookston 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Calhoun County, Illinois American tax resisters Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Religious leaders from Illinois Catholics from Illinois