Pope Francis has appointed Father Michel Mulloy, a priest of the Diocese of Rapid City and current Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Rapid City as the Bishop of Duluth. The Diocese of Duluth has been a vacant see since December 2019.
Bishop-elect Mulloy was born on May 20, 1954, in Mobridge, South Dakota. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Humanities from St. Mary University in Winona, Minnesota. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Sioux Falls on June 8, 1979.
After ordination, Father Mulloy was assigned to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Diocese of Rapid City (1979-1981). He returned to the Diocese of Sioux Falls in 1981 and was assigned to Christ the King Parish in Sioux Falls where he served until 1983 when he was named Administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Faith, with two mission parishes of St. Anthony in Red Owl and Our Lady of Victory in Plainview. In 1986, Father Mulloy was incardinated into the Diocese of Rapid City and he was appointed Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Faith and continued his ministry with the two mission parishes.
Other assignments have included: Pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Sturgis (1989-1996); Pastor at Blessed Sacrament Church in Rapid City (1996) and the missions at Keystone (2000) and Hill City (2003); Pastor of Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help with missions of St. Michael’s in Hermosa and the Immaculate Conception Chapel in Rapid City (2004-2010), Pastor of the parishes of St. Bernard in McLaughlin, Assumption in Kenel, St. Aloysius in Bullhead, and St. Bede in Wakpala (2016).
Bishop-elect Mulloy’s ministry has also included: Director of Vocations (1989-1992) and Director for Office of Worship (1994) for the Diocese of Rapid City, and Director of Spiritual Life and Liturgy at Terra Sancta Retreat Center (2018). He has been a Consultor, member of the Presbyterial Council, and served on the Contingency Board as well as several other committees. He was named Vicar General and Vicar for Clergy of the Diocese of Rapid City in 2017, and in August 2019, he was elected Diocesan Administrator for the vacant see of Rapid City.
The Diocese of Duluth is comprised of 22,354 square miles in the state of Minnesota and has a total population of 447,896 of which 45,283 are Catholic.
