1889 to 1900

The Diocese of Jamestown was erected on November 10, 1889, by Pope Leo XIII, taking the news State of North Dakota from the Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota. The pope named Reverend John Shanley of Saint Paul as bishop of Jamestown.^[2] The new diocese covered the entire state of North Dakota. St. James Church was designated the diocesan cathedral.

That same year, Shanley wrote the Fargo Argus defending Native Americans living on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. He denounced actions taken by local Indian agents that hurt the Chippewa/Ojibwe people and highlighted positive aspects of their culture.^[3]

Once in Fargo, Shanley purchased property for a new cathedral and started its construction. The basement was completed when a fire destroyed most of downtown Fargo in 1893. Shanley then donated most of the cathedral funds to reconstruct Fargo, delaying the cathedral completion until 1899.^[4] Shanley hosted the convention of Catholic Laymen in 1896.^[5]

On April 6, 1897, the Vatican renamed the Diocese of Jamestown as the Diocese of Fargo.^[4] At this time, the diocese had 60 churches, 33 priests, 14 schools and one hospital in the diocese.

1900 to 1970

By the time Shanley died in July 1909, the diocese had 106 priests, 225 churches, six academies, 34 schools and four hospitals.^[6]Pope Pius X named Reverend James O'Reilly of Saint Paul as the second bishop of Fargo in December 1909.^[7] At the same time, Pope Pius X moved all of western North Dakota from the Diocese of Fargo to the new Diocese of Bismarck.^[2][8]

O'Reilly died in 1934 after 25 years as bishop.^[9] The next bishop of Fargo was Aloisius Muench of Saint Paul, appointed by Pope Pius XI in 1935.^[10] After World War II, Muench spent much of his time on Vatican assignments in West Germany while still serving as bishop of Fargo. While Muench was in Europe, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Leo Dworschak of the Diocese of Rapid City to serve as apostolic administrator in Fargo. In 1947, Pius XII named Dworschak as auxiliary bishop in Fargo. Muench resigned in 1959 as bishop of Fargo after being elevated to the rank of cardinal; Pope John XXIII in 1960 named Dworschak as Muench's replacement.^[11]

1970 to present

After Dworschak retired in 1970, Pope Paul VI appointed Reverend Justin Driscoll, president of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, as the next bishop of Fargo.^[12] Driscoll died in 1984.

To replace Driscoll, Pope John Paul II named Auxiliary Bishop James Sullivan of the Diocese of Lansing as bishop of Fargo. During his tenure, Sullivan established the Fargo Catholic Schools Network and the Opening Doors, Opening Hearts evangelization program.^[13] He improved the financial condition of the diocese and funded the Priest Pension Plan through the Shepherd's Care Campaign.^[13] In 2001, John Paul II named Monsignor Samuel J. Aquila of Denver as coadjutor bishop of the diocese to assist Sullivan. When Sullivan resigned in 2002, Aquila automatically succeeded him as bishop of Fargo.^[14]

After Aquila was named archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in 2012, Pope Francis in 2013 named Monsignor John Folda of the Diocese of Lincoln to succeed him in Fargo. Folda, as of 2023, is the current bishop of Fargo.

Sex abuse

The diocese in 1998 removed Reverend Fernando Sayasaya from ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Fargo after three teenage boys accused him of sexual abuse. Sayasaya went home to the Philippines in December 1998.^[15] In December 2002, he was charged with gross sexual imposition.^[16] The Vatican laicized Sayasaya in 2005. The Philippines ordered him extradited to the United States in 2010, but he wasn't arrested for seven more years. In 2017. In May 2018, 20 years after he was first accused, Sayasaya pleaded guilty in North Dakota and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.^[17]

In a 2010 article, the Grand Forks Herald discussed a sexual abuse case it had originally reported in March 1994. A Grand Forks man had accused Reverend John Smythe, on assignment from Ireland in the Diocese of Fargo, of sexually assaulting him in 1981 in Langdon when the man was 12 years old. When contacted in 1994 by the Herald, the vicar general for the diocese said they had sent Smythe away for treatment. However, by later 1994, Smythe was in prison in Northern Ireland for sexually assaulting children there. At that point, other alleged victims of Smythe in Langdon had come forward to the diocese.^[18]

In January 2020, the diocese published a list of 31 diocesan clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of children, dating back to 1950.^[19] The list included Reverend Richard Sinner, brother of former North Dakota Governor George A. Sinner.^[20]

In July 2021, the diocese announced that the Diocese of Lansing had confirmed several credible sexual abuse allegations against Bishop Sullivan. While assigned as a priest at the Church of the Resurrection Parish in Lansing, Michigan, in the 1960s, Sullivan allegedly touched two young boys inappropriately and used sexual language with them.^[21] After the announcement, the John Paul II Catholic Schools network in Fargo renamed Sullivan Middle School as Sacred Heart Middle School.^[22]

In December 2022, a woman reported to the diocese that she had been sexually victimized by Reverend Neil Pfeifer, pastor of three churches in the Jamestown area, between January and March 2021 during counseling sessions. Frustrated with the pace of the diocese investigation, the woman filed charges against Pfeifer with the police in January 2023. Later that month, the diocese removed Pfeiffer from ministry. He was arrested February 2023, and charged with sexual exploitation by therapist. Pfeifer denied the charges. He was later accused of a similar offense in Logan County.^[23][24]

Bishop of Jamestown

John Shanley (1889–1909)

Bishops of Fargo

1. John Shanley (1889–1909)
2. James O'Reilly (1909–1934)
3. Aloisius Joseph Muench (1935–1959), appointed Apostolic Nuncio and Titular Archbishop (elevated to Cardinal in 1959)
4. Leo Ferdinand Dworschak (1960–1970)
5. Justin Albert Driscoll (1970–1984)
6. James Stephen Sullivan (1985–2002)
7. Samuel Joseph Aquila (2002–2012), appointed Archbishop of Denver
8. John Thomas Folda (2013–present)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

• Raymond W. Lessard, appointed Bishop of Savannah in 1973
• William Theodore Mulloy, appointed Bishop of Covington in 1944
• Vincent James Ryan, appointed Bishop of Bismarck in 1940

Deanery 1: South-East

Dean: Dale Lagodinski

Deanery 2: Fargo

Dean: Paul Duchschere

Deanery 3: Grand Forks

Dean: N/A

Deanery 4: North-East

Dean:N/A

Deanery 5: Devils Lake

Dean: Chad Wilhelm

Deanery 6: North-West

Dean: Frank Miller

Deanery 7: Jamestown-Valley City

Dean: Dennis Skonseng

Deanery 8: South-West

Dean: Wenceslaus Katanga

Schools

Former schools

The Diocese of Fargo operated Cardinal Muench Seminary, established in 1962, for the formation of men to the priesthood. The seminary closed in May 2011 due to increased costs and a lack of funding.

The following schools are closed:

• St. Alphonsus High School
• St. Mary's Elementary School