Maurice John Dingman

Maurice John Dingman (January 20, 1914 – February 1, 1992) was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Des Moines in Iowa from 1968 to 1986.

Biography

Early life Maurice Dingman was born on January 20, 1914, on a farm near St. Paul, Iowa, to Theodore and Angela (née Witte) Dingman. He attended St. Ambrose College in Davenport before studying in Rome at the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Priesthood Dingman was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Davenport on December 8, 1939, by Bishop Ralph Hayes in the Chapel of Our Lady of Humility at the North American College. Upon his return to Iowa, he taught at St. Ambrose Academy in Davenport from 1940 until 1943, when he became assistant chancellor of the diocese and Bishop Henry Rohlman's secretary.

Dingman earned a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America at Washington, DC, in 1946. From 1946 to 1953, he served as principal of Bishop Hayes High School in Muscatine, Iowa. He was later named superintendent of Catholic schools and chancellor of the diocese. Dingman also served as chaplain at Ottumwa Naval Air Station and the Congregation of the Humility of Mary Motherhouse, both in Ottumwa, Iowa. He was also chaplain at Regina Coeli Monastery in Bettendorf, Iowa, and Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa. Dingman's episcopal ordination was one of the first celebrated in the diocese in the vernacular. He was installed at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines on July 7, 1968. A mass followed at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines

Dingman became known as a champion of rural issues and ecumenism, and strengthened the laity, priests, and nuns of the diocese. He supported nuclear disarmament and was open to discussion on the subject of women's ordination.