Vatican City, May 26, 2011 / 15:17 pm
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Robert D. Gruss as the new Bishop of Rapid City in South Dakota on May 26. On the same day, he announced that Father Donald J. Hying would become an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milkwaukee.
Bishop-elect Gruss, age 55, has been a priest since 1994 and had a previous career as an airline pilot and aviation instructor. He was the vice rector and director of human formation at Rome’s Pontifical North American College from 2007 to 2010, and most recently served as the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa.
“It is with deep humility and gratitude that I have accepted the Holy Father’s appointment as the next bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City,” the bishop-elect stated. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve God, the Catholic Church, and the people of the diocese. I am looking forward to getting to know the people here and to minister to them in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Once consecrated as a bishop, Monsignor Gruss will take on the responsibility of leading approximately 25,000 Catholics in an area of 43,000 square miles. He is the successor to
former Rapid City Bishop Blase J. Cupich, who now heads the Diocese of Spokane in Washington.