Joseph Dwenger

Joseph Gregory Dwenger, C.P.P.S (April 7, 1837 – January 22, 1893) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Fort Wayne in Indiana from 1872 to 1893. He was a member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

Biography

Early life Joseph Dwenger was born near Minster, Ohio, on April 7, 1837. His parents were Johann Gerhard Heinrich "Henry" Dwenger and Maria Catherine Wirdt. Dying of cholera, his widowed mother entrusted the boy to Reverend Andrew Kunkler, a priest of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The order raised Dwenger and educated him at Holy Trinity School in Cincinnati, Ohio He later joined the religious order, and was sent to study for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati. In 1861, Dwenger arranged for the purchase of a property in Carthagena, Ohio that would become St. Charles Seminary, he was its founding rector. In 1862, the Missionaries assigned Dwenger to pastoral work. In 1867, he was sent on preaching missions in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. In 1872, Dwenger accompanied Purcell, as his theologian, to the Second Plenary Council of American bishops in Baltimore, Maryland. and he aided in establishing Immaculate Conception Parish in Celina, Ohio In 1875, he erected the St. Joseph orphan asylum for boys in Lafayette. He also created a trade school for boys in Lafayette. He was a zealous promoter of the parochial school system.

Death and legacy Joseph Dwenger died on January 22, 1893, in Fort Wayne. He was buried at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne is named for him.