The Diocese of Crookston () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwestern Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The mother church of the Diocese of Crookston is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston.  As of 2023, the current bishop is Andrew Cozzens.

Territory 
The Diocese of Crookston comprises 14 counties:

Kittson, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Polk, Red Lake, Pennington, Clearwater, Beltrami, Norman, Mahnomen, Hubbard, Clay and Becker.

History

1900 to 1960 
The Diocese of Crookston was erected on December 31, 1909, by Pope Pius X with territory taken from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul. The pope named Timothy J. Corbett of Saint Paul as the first bishop of Crookston. . During his 28-year tenure, Corbett established over 50 churches and 12 schools through soliciting funds. Corbett resigned in 1938.

Pope Pius XI in 1938 selected John Peschges of the Diocese of Winona as the second bishop of Crookston. Peschges established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, religious courses for rural youth, in the diocese and founded other organizations for agricultural development.

After Peschges died in 1944, Pope Pius XII in 1945 appointed Francis Schenk of Saint Paul to succeed him.  During his tenure in Crookston, Schenk established over 30 new churches, founded Our Northland Diocese newspaper, and organized diocesan offices of the Catholic Social Service Agency and the Catholic Youth Organization. He also founded summer boarding schools for children of the thousands of Mexican migrant workers who worked in the diocese. In 1960, Peschges became bishop of the Diocese of Duluth.

1960 to 2007 
The next bishop of Crookston was Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Glenn of Duluth, appointed by Pope John XXIII in 1960. Glenn retired as bishop ten years later. To succeed Glenn, Pope Paul VI named Kenneth Povish of the Diocese of Saginaw in 1970. During his five-year tenure, Povish implemented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, establishing parish councils in each parish and a pastoral council for the diocese. He also supported liturgical reform and the ecumenical movement.

Povish became bishop of the Diocese of Lansing in 1975.  Paul VI replaced him in 1976 in Crookston with Victor Balke from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Balke retired in 2007 after 31 years as bishop of Crookston.

2007 to present 
Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 appointed Michael Hoeppner of the Diocese of Winona as the next bishop of Crookston. Following the investigation of Hoeppener for coercing a sexual abuse victim, Pope Francis ordered his resignation as the bishop of Crookston. The pope accepted it on April 13, 2021.

As of 2023, the current bishop of the Diocese of Crookston is Andrew Cozzens, formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He was appointed by Francis in late 2021.

Sex abuse 
The Diocese of Crookston was sued in 2013 by a man from the White Earth Indian Reservation in the diocese.  The plaintiff claimed that he was sexually abused as a young boy in the 1960s by J. Vincent Fitzgerald, a priest ministering in the reservation.

In May 2017, Hoeppner became the first American bishop to be sued personally for coercion. The lawsuit was filed by Ronald Vasek, a former diaconate candidate in the diocese.  Vasek alleged that Roger Grundhaus had sexually abused him when he was a teenager during a trip to Ohio in 1971.  Vasek made his allegations known to the diocese in 2011.  In October 2015, Vasek signed a letter recanting his accusations against Grundhaus.  Vasek claims that Hoeppner had threatened retaliation against Vasek's son, a priest in the diocese, if Vasek failed to sign it. Vasek said that Hoeppner's actions were like "being abused all over again."

On September 20, 2017, Vasek, the diocese and Hoeppner reached a legal settlement.  As part of the agreement, Hoeppner released the letter from October 2015. In September 2019, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced that he would investigate Hoeppner's actions.  This was the first investigation of an American bishop for failing to the follow the procedures established in the 2019 papal document Vos estis lux mundi. Hoeppner was forced to resign as bishop in 2021.

In July 2019, the diocese announced a $5 million legal settlement with 15 alleged victims of sexual abuse by diocesan clergy.



Bishops 
 Timothy J. Corbett (1910–38)
 John Hubert Peschges (1938–44)
 Francis Joseph Schenk (1945–60), appointed Bishop of Duluth
 Lawrence Alexander Glenn (1960–70)
 Kenneth Joseph Povish (1970–75), appointed Bishop of Lansing
 Victor Hermann Balke (1976-2007)
 Michael Joseph Hoeppner (2007–2021)
 Andrew H. Cozzens (2021-)

Schools
Sacred Heart High School – East Grand Forks

See also

 Catholic Church by country
 Catholic Church in the United States
 Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
 Global organisation of the Catholic Church
 List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
 List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
 List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
 List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

External links 
Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston Official Site

 
Crookston
Diocese of Crookston
Polk County, Minnesota
Christian organizations established in 1909
Crookston
Crookston