David Kagan

David Dennis Kagan (born November 9, 1949) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Bismarck since 2011.

Biography

Early life and education David Kagan was born on November 9, 1949, in Waukegan, Illinois, and grew up in Spring Grove, Illinois. He received his primary education at Saint Peter School in Spring Grove. Deciding to become a priest, Kagan entered the Salvatorian Seminary, a minor seminary in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. He then studied philosophy at Loras College/St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.

Priesthood Kagan was ordained into the priesthood at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rockford, Illinois, by Bishop Arthur O'Neill on June 14, 1975, for the Diocese of Rockford. After his 1975 ordination, the diocese assigned Kagan as parochial vicar of Saint Patrick Parish in Dixon, Illinois, and as a teacher of religious education at Newman Central Catholic High School in Sterling, Illinois.

Kagan went to Rome in 1977 to enter the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He received a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1979. In 1994, Kagan was named vicar general and moderator of the curia for the diocese by his bishop, as well as honorary prelate by the Vatican. In 2011, the Vatican elevated Kagan to the rank of protonotary apostolic. He was consecrated at Bismarck's Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Archbishop John Nienstedt was the principal consecrator. Zipfel and Bishop Thomas G. Doran were the principal co-consecrators.

Kagan in 2015 ended the affiliation between the diocese and Boy Scouts of America, citing policy changes that allowed gay men to serve as scout leaders and volunteers. In June 2022, Kagan announced that the diocese would investigate the life of Michelle Duppong, a missionary from North Dakota, as part of a possible campaign for her beatification and canonization.