Joseph Clement Willging

Joseph Clement Willging (September 6, 1884 – March 3, 1959) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Pueblo (1942–1959).

Biography

Joseph Willging was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to Henry and Elizabeth (née Hanover) Willging.^[1] After attending St. Mary's School (1891–1898) and Columbia College (1898–1905) in Dubuque, he studied at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, earning a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1908.^[1] He was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1908.^[2]

He then studied at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. for a year before becoming principal of St. Aloysius Institute in Helena, Montana, in 1909.^[1] He was a professor at Carroll College from 1910 to 1914, and briefly returned to Catholic University (1912–1913).^[1] He then served as chancellor of the Diocese of Helena until 1927, when he became pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Butte.^[1] He was named a Papal Chamberlain (1921), and a Domestic Prelate and the vicar general of Helena in 1939.^[1]

On December 6, 1941, Willging was appointed the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado, by Pope Pius XII.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on February 24, 1942 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishop Henry Rohlman and Bishop Joseph Michael Gilmore serving as co-consecrators.^[2] During his 17-year-long tenure, he increased the number of parishes from 39 to 60, and the number of priests from 84 to 151.^[3] He also encouraged the establishment of parochial schools and Catholic hospitals.^[3]

Willging died from a heart attack, at age 74.

References

Diocese of Pueblo
Bishops	Joseph Clement Willging Charles Albert Buswell Arthur Nicholas Tafoya Fernando Isern Stephen Jay Berg
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Parishes Sacred Heart Church, Alamosa
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Archdiocese of Dubuque
Ordinaries	Bishops Mathias Loras Clement Smyth Archbishops John Hennessy John Keane James Keane Francis Beckman Henry Rohlman Leo Binz James Byrne Daniel Kucera Jerome Hanus Michael Jackels
Auxiliary Bishops	Edward Aloysius Fitzgerald Loras Thomas Lane George Biskup Loras Joseph Watters Francis John Dunn William Edwin Franklin
Churches	Cathedral St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque Parishes Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville St. John XXIII, Cedar Rapids Holy Family, New Melleray Holy Ghost, Dubuque Holy Trinity, Luxemburg Nativity, Dubuque Sacred Heart, Dubuque Sacred Heart, Fillmore St. Boniface, New Vienna St. Donatus, St. Donatus St. Joseph, Elkader St. Joseph, Key West Saint Joseph the Worker, Dubuque St. Ludmila, Cedar Rapids St. Martin, Cascade St. Mary, Guttenberg St. Patrick, Dubuque St. Patrick, Garryowen St. Lawrence, Otter Creek St. Paul, Worthington Saints Peter and Paul, Petersburg Former Parishes Saint Joseph's Prairie Church St. Mary, Cascade St. Mary, Dubuque St. Joseph, Stone City
Education	Higher Education Clarke University Divine Word College Loras College Mount Mercy University St. Pius X Seminary, Dubuque High Schools Beckman High School, Dyersville Columbus High School, Waterloo Don Bosco High School, Gilbertville Marquette High School, Bellevue Newman Catholic High School, Mason City Wahlert High School, Dubuque Xavier High School, Cedar Rapids Primary Schools Mazzuchelli Middle School, Dubuque Holy Family Catholic Schools, Dubuque Former Schools St. Luke's School, St. Lucas
Religious Orders	New Melleray Abbey Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Priests	John George Alleman John Patrick Carroll James Vincent Casey Joseph Crétin Justin Albert Driscoll Thomas William Drumm Raymond Philip Etteldorf Daniel Mary Gorman Edward Howard Louis Benedict Kucera Mathias Clement Lenihan Thomas Mathias Lenihan J. A. M. Pelamourgues Aloysius Schmitt Joseph Clement Willging
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