With great sadness, we notify you of the death of our Bishop Emeritus Paul Zipfel. He died peacefully Sunday, July 14 at a nursing home near St. Louis while under the care of hospice after an extended and debilitating struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83 years old.
We offer sympathies and prayers for his family, to the priests, religious, friends and the faithful whose lives he touched throughout his 58 years of priestly and episcopal ministry. Plans for funeral services in St. Louis and here in the Diocese of Bismarck are not yet complete, but all will be notified of them in the next day or two.
His approachable and authentic nature will be how Bishop Zipfel will be remembered during his time as our chief shepherd. Few people ever forgot an encounter with him and his infectious, ever-present smile.
Bishop Zipfel, having been born and raised in the Midwest, understood the vibrant culture of hearty North Dakotans, blending right in with the traditions of food, friendship and fellowship. He was as comfortable in official meetings as he was entertaining a crowd with his impromptu magic tricks. The native of Missouri had spent his entire life near the city of St. Louis, but embraced the people of our rural diocese and you, in turn, wholeheartedly embraced him.
The long, 20-month wait for Bishop Zipfel’s appointment as the sixth Bishop of Bismarck was announced on New Year’s Eve 1996. At age 61, the auxiliary bishop from St. Louis was the first bishop from outside the Province of the Archdiocese of St. Paul (North and South Dakota and Minnesota) to be appointed to serve Bismarck. He was installed on Feb. 20, 1997, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. More than 36 archbishops and bishops, along with dozens of priests, deacons, religious, family and friends filled the Cathedral to overflowing.
During his 14 years as Bishop of Bismarck, one of the many indelible marks left upon the diocese was his devotion to vocations and Catholic education. His commitment to sending young priests to be chaplains and teach in our Catholic schools turned around our entire focus to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life for young men and women.
He was truly a man of the people—a selfless servant. He once summed up his life by saying, “I try to be a priest from head to toe!”
We ask the faithful to join us in praying for the eternal repose of his soul.
Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Article provided by Diocese of Bismarck