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His Excellency, The Most Reverend Maurice J. Dingman
Bishop of Des Moines
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Diocese of Des Moines
In office	April 2, 1968 – October 14, 1986
Predecessor	George Biskup
Successor	William Henry Bullock
Orders
Ordination	December 8, 1939 by Ralph Leo Hayes
Consecration	June 19, 1968 by Luigi Raimondi
Personal details
Born	(1914-01-20)January 20, 1914 St. Paul, Iowa, US
Died	February 1, 1992(1992-02-01) (aged 78) Des Moines, Iowa, US
Education	St. Ambrose College Pontifical North American College Pontifical Gregorian University Catholic University of America
Motto	Ecclesia Agricultura

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

Biography

Early life and ministry

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.

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 in Ottumwa, Iowa. He was also chaplain at Regina Coeli Monastery in Bettendorf, Iowa, and Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa.

Bishop of Des Moines

On April 2, 1968, Dingman was appointed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal ordination on June 19, 1968, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport from Archbishop Luigi Raimondi. Bishops Ralph Hayes and Gerald O'Keefe were the co-consecrators. Dingman's episcopal ordination was one of the first celebrated in the vernacular. He was installed at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines on July 7, 1968. A Mass followed at Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

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. From 1976 to 1979, he served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.

On October 4, 1979, Pope John Paul II visited the Diocese of Des Moines on the suggestion of Joe Hays, a farmer in Truro, Iowa, and on the invitation of Dingman. After landing at the Des Moines Airport, the pope visited the rural parish of St. Patrick near Irish Settlement. He then celebrated a Mass at the Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa.

In October 1983, Dingman was abducted by gunpoint by two juveniles, whose advocate in court the bishop later became.

Later life and death

On April 17, 1986, Dingman suffered a massive stroke in his kitchen. He recuperated at his family home in St. Paul. On October 14, 1986, Pope John Paul II accepted Dingman's resignation as bishop of Des Moines due to poor health. For his life work as an advocate for peace and justice issues, Dingman received the 1986 Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award, sponsored in part by the Diocese of Davenport, and St. Ambrose College.

Maurice Dingman died on February 1, 1992, at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. His funeral was celebrated at St. Ambrose Cathedral, and he was buried in Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines.

References

1. ^ Hudson, David; Marvin Bergman; Loren Horton (2008). The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
2. Avella, Steven M. (2018). The Catholic Church in Southwest Iowa. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. p. 250. ISBN 9780814644713.
3. ^ "Bishop Maurice John Dingman". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
4. Avella 2018, p. 256.
5. The Official Catholic Directory. New Providence, New Jersey: P.J. Kenedy & Sons. 2009. p. 378.
6. Avella 2018, p. 337.
7. Avella 2018, p. 354.
8. "Bishop Maurice Dingman, 78". Quad-City Times. Davenport. February 2, 1992. Retrieved 2019-08-21.

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines
Bishops	Austin Dowling Thomas W. Drumm Gerald T. Bergan Edward C. Daly, OP George Biskup Maurice J. Dingman William H. Bullock Joseph L. Charron, CPpS Richard E. Pates William Michael Joensen
Churches	List List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines Cathedral St. Ambrose Cathedral, Des Moines Parishes St. Peter's, Council Bluffs St. Patrick's, Cumming Basilica of St. John, Des Moines St. Anthony, Des Moines St. Augustin, Des Moines St. Patrick Church, Imogene St. Patrick's, Perry All Saints, Stuart St. Boniface, Waukee St. Boniface, Westphalia
Education	Mercy College of Health Sciences Dowling Catholic High School, West Des Moines Saint Albert Catholic Schools, Council Bluffs
Priest	John Joseph Boylan
Miscellany	Catholic Pastoral Center
Iowa portal Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
Bishops	Ordinaries John McMullen Henry Cosgrove James J. Davis Henry P. Rohlman Ralph L. Hayes Gerald F. O’Keefe William E. Franklin Martin J. Amos Thomas R. Zinkula Dennis G. Walsh Auxiliary Edward Howard
Churches	List List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral Parishes Church of St. John the Baptist, Burlington St. Paul's Church, Burlington St. Anthony’s Church, Davenport Holy Family Parish, Fort Madison St. Patrick's Church, Georgetown St. Mary’s Church, Iowa City St. Patrick's Church, Iowa City Church of All Saints, Keokuk St. Mary's Church, Nichols St. Mary of the Visitation Church, Ottumwa St. Mary's Church, Riverside Former parishes St. Joseph's Church, Bauer Saints Peter and Paul Church, Clear Creek St. Boniface Church, Clinton St. Irenaeus Church, Clinton St. Joseph's Church, Davenport St. Mary’s Church, Davenport St. Joseph's Church, Fort Madison St. Michael's Church, Holbrook Saints Peter and Paul Church, Solon
Education	Higher education St. Ambrose University High schools Assumption High School, Davenport Holy Trinity Catholic Schools (HS), Fort Madison Notre Dame High School, Burlington Prince of Peace Preparatory, Clinton Regina High School, Iowa City Former Aquinas Schools, Fort Madison Cardinal Stritch High School, Keokuk Immaculate Conception Academy, Davenport Marquette Catholic Schools (HS), West Point Marycrest College St. Mary’s Academy
Priests	William Lawrence Adrian John George Alleman Ambrose Burke Edward Catich William J. Collins Martin Cone Maurice John Dingman John Flannagan Robert Dwayne Gruss William Hannon Ulrich Hauber Cletus Madsen Carl Meinberg Sebastian Menke Marvin Mottet J. A. M. Pelamourgues Aloysius Schulte William Shannahan Lawrence Donald Soens
Miscellany	Ambrose Hall Henry Kahl House Antoine LeClaire House F.H. Miller House Regina Coeli Monastery Mount Calvary Cemetery, Davenport St. Joseph Hospital, Ottumwa Old St. Mary's Rectory, Iowa City St. Thomas More Parish Center Pacem in Terris Award Selma Schricker House
Catholicism portal

• 1914 births
• 1992 deaths
• People from Lee County, Iowa
• St. Ambrose University alumni
• Pontifical North American College alumni
• Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
• Catholic University of America alumni
• 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
• Roman Catholic bishops of Des Moines
• American school principals