Scanned from History of Dakota Territory
Bishop O’Gorman was born 1 May 1843; he spent his school years in St. Paul Minnesota attending public as well as parochial schools. He had a long and distinguished career in the church starting as a missionary in 1865 in southern Minnesota where he stayed until 1878. He would focus his efforts on education when he is named the first president of College of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. His arrival to Sioux Falls comes in April 1896 when he becomes the second Bishop of the Sioux Falls Diocese where he concentrated on establishing schools and Hospitals.[1] Continuing his focus on higher education he founded Columbus College in Chamberlin South Dakota in 1914. In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the Taft Commission where he was sent to Rome to negotiate with church authorities on issues concerning the Philippine Islands. By the end of his leadership in 1921 the Diocese of Sioux Falls had twice as many priests, parochial schools, and Catholic congregants as it had when he took over.[2]
[1] (Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory 1915, 340)
[2] (Littlefield 2012, 290)
[1] (Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory 1915, 340)
[2] (Littlefield 2012, 290)