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Although Bishop Joseph Gabriel Pinten served the diocese only four years, his contributions live on today. The greatest single monument to his memory was the construction of a new cathedral, a feat that eluded his predecessors.
Bishop Pinten | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
Born Oct. 3, 1867, at Rockland, Mich., Bishop Pinten grew up in Calumet, MI, and entered St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, in 1881. In 1885, he was sent to Rome to pursue his studies in philosophy and theology.
He was ordained to the priesthood on November 1, 1890, by Cardinal Lucido Parocchi in Rome for the Diocese of Marquette, MI. He served as pastor of several parishes before being named rector of St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette. In 1912 he was named vicar general of the diocese. Later that year Pope Pius X honored him with the title of domestic prelate (monsignor).
He was born to wealthy parents, Joseph and Anna (Kloekner) Pinten, and used his inheritance to help others. For example, in 1919, while serving as vicar general, he purchased the dormitory property at Northern Normal College on Marquette’s north side and donated it to the diocese for use as a church. He stipulated that the church be named after St. Michael and that the parish build a school to be staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
He also had a special concern for orphaned children. He directed the building of the Holy Family Orphans’ Home in Marquette and spent his last six years in that city overseeing the orphanage.
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After 31 years as a priest, he was appointed third bishop of Superior on December 3, 1921. His ordination as bishop took place at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette on May 3, 1922, with Archbishop Sebastian Messmer of Milwaukee presiding. A solemn enthronement ceremony was held the next day at Sacret Heart pro-cathedral in Superior.
In a May 6 story announcing his consecration as bishop, the Catholic Citizen described the new bishop as a “brilliant” man. The deep admiration given to him by Catholics in the Marquette Diocese was illustrated a few months after Bishop Pinten’s arrival in Superior. At that time, the bishop of Marquette, Frederick Eis, had resigned and a call for Bishop Pinten’s return to Michigan began.
“Newspapers and laymen in the Upper Peninsula have started a campaign lending to the return to this diocese Bishop Joseph G. Pinten of Superior... One newspaper says the selection of Bishop Pinten ‘would be most popular in the diocese and certainly in Marquette, where he labored so long and so faithfully.” (Catholic Herald in Milwaukee, September 7, 1922)
Bishop Pinten may have been flattered by such talk, but would have known that a transfer just months after his arrival in Superior, was impossible.
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Bishop Pinten settled in to his new diocese with ease and soon became a beloved religious and community leader.
After moving to Superior, he purchased a home for himself near Belknap Street and Ogden Avenue to be close to the city’s center. Later, when he learned that a local community of Sisters was living in an overcrowded residence, he had his home remodeled and quietly turned it over to them.
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The relatively small, frame-built Sacred Heart church had served as the “pro-Cathedral” for the diocese. Although Bishop Joseph Koudelka (1913-1921) had hoped to build a Cathedral, he was prevented from doing so by the First World War.
On March 24, 1923, Bishop Pinten announced that a new cathedral, estimated to cost appropximately $300,000, would be built on the block bounded by Belknap and Fourteenth Streets, Grand and Baxter Avenues. The groundbreaking took place on June 24, 1926 (The Cathedral website gives June 23 date). A steam shovel owned by Jacobson Brothers contractors of Duluth, MN, was used to excavate the land. Bishop Pinten's last official act as bishop of Superior, on October 24, was to lay the cornerstone for the new cathedral. Two days later, Bishop Pinten was appointed the new bishop of Grand Rapids, MI.
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Bishop Pinten was installed as bishop on October 28, 1926.
Bishop Pinten had the respect and admiration of his priests in Superior. Thirty days before his installation, over 50 priests gathered in Superior to bid farewell to their bishop. As a token of their esteem, the priests presented Bishop Pinten with a gold plated, solid silver chalice. They had an inscription engraved on it: "In kind remembrance to our beloved bishop, Rt. Rev. Joseph Gabriel Pinten, from the priests of the Diocese of Superior."
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Bishop Pinten continued as bishop of Grand Rapids until he resigned on Nov. 1, 1940 - the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination - due to failing health. He moved back to Marquette, where he died on November 6, 1945, at age 78.
At his request, a simple funeral service was held. A Mass was celebrated on November 11 by Bishop William P. O'Connor of Superior and Bishop Francis J. Haas of Grand Rapids at Marquette's St. Peter Cathedral.
He was buried next to his parents in a crypt under the chapel at Holy Cross Cemetery.
In his will, Bishop Pinten stipulated that one-fourth of his estate be used to help pay for the debt the Superior Diocese incurred in building its cathedral. He also bequeathed his pectoral cross, originally belonging to Bishop John Vertin of Marquette and given to him on his consecration as bishop in 1913, to Bishop O'Connor.
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Source: Our Journey through Faith: A History of the Diocese of Superior, by Sam Lucero, 2005.