"I'm humbled. I'm deeply grateful that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, thought I could handle and take on this opportunity."
Mulloy was born in Mobridge, South Dakota, in 1954. He said that during his childhood his family moved houses a lot. He also lost his mother at an early age; she died when he was 14.
He received a bachelor of arts degree from St. Mary University in Winona, Minnesota, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sioux Falls on June 8, 1979.
Mulloy was assigned to assist the Diocese of Rapid City at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help immediately after his ordination.
In July 1981, he returned to the Diocese of Sioux Falls, where he served until July 1983 as a parochial vicar at Christ the King Parish in Sioux Falls.
Apart from that two-year period, Mulloy has spent his whole priestly life in the Diocese of Rapid City.
In a Sept. 7 statement, the Diocese of Sioux Falls said that it "has no record of having received complaints or allegations regarding the conduct of Father Mulloy during his assigned ministry" in the diocese.
After serving at several parishes in the Diocese of Rapid City, including the mission parishes of St. Anthony in Red Owl and Our Lady of Victory in Plainview, Mulloy was incardinated in the diocese on October 17, 1986.
He was then appointed pastor of St. Joseph's church with continued ministry at the two mission parishes.
The 100-year-old Our Lady of Victory parish in Plainview was closed by the diocese in 2018 due to a declining rural population in the area.
The priest has been pastor at several other parishes in the Rapid City diocese. He also served as director of vocations from 1989 to 1992, and director for the office of worship in 1994.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Mulloy was also director of spiritual life and liturgy at the Terra Sancta Retreat Center in 2018.
This report has been updated to clarify details of Fr. Michel Molloy's priestly ministry in the Diocese of Sioux Falls.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.