Henry Joseph Grimmelsmann

Henry Joseph Grimmelsmann (December 22, 1890 – June 26, 1972) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Evansville in Indiana from 1944 to 1965.

Biography

Early life Henry Grimmelsmann was born on December 22, 1890, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to G.H. and Frances Grimmelsmann. Raised in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, he was one of ten children; three of his sisters became nuns and another brother also became a priest. He then entered the University of Innsbruck in Austria-Hungary, but was forced to return to Cincinnati following the outbreak of World War I. After his ordination, Grimmelsmann went to Washington D.C. to study at the Catholic University of America. He later returned to the University of Innsbruck, where he earned a Doctor of Sacred Scripture degree. Back in Cincinnati, the archdiocese assigned Grimmelsmann served as a curate at St. Lawrence Parish in that city In 1920, Grimmelsmann was named vice-rector and professor of sacred scripture and Hebrew at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati Pope Pius XI named him rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum at Worthington, Ohio, in 1932.

Bishop of Evansville On November 11, 1944, Grimmelsmann was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Evansville by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration at the Josephinum on December 21, 1944, from Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, with Bishops Urban Vehr and George Rehring serving as co-consecrators. Between 1962 and 1965, Grimmelsmann attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome.

Retirement and death Pope Paul VI accepted Grimmelsmann's resignation as bishop of Evansville on October 18, 1965, and named time titular bishop of Tabla. Henry Grimmelsmann died in Evansville on June 26, 1972, at age 81, and was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Evansville.