What, Sioux Falls has a Bishop? (It does!)

Remember my little rumor of a fortnight ago?

Well, lo and behold, the prayers of the 130,000 Catholics of Sioux Falls have been answered:

Il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha nominato Vescovo di Sioux Falls (U.S.A.) il Rev.do Mons. Paul Joseph Swain, finora Vicario Generale di Madison.

(Amy has the rest in Italian.)

In English:

The Holy Father has named as the new Bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA), Monsignor Paul Joseph Swain, up to now Vicar General of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, and Rector of the Cathedral.

Bishop-elect Swain was born into a Methodist family. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Ohio Northern University in 1965, a Master of Arts in Political Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965, and then (after serving in the Vietnam) a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1974. He served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971 as an Air Intelligence Officer and earned a Bronze Star. As a lawyer, he served as Legal Counsel, League of Wisconsin Municipalities and later as Legal Counsel to the Governor of Wisconsin, Lee Sherman Dryfus, from 1979 to 1983.

In 1982 he was received into the Catholic Church and in 1983 entered the seminary, attending Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, where he earned a Master of Divinity. He was ordained a priest May 27, 1988, and has served in various parochial and diocesan positions.

• Rocco adds more: "Bishop-elect Swain must be ordained and take possession of the diocese of Sioux Falls (comprised of "East River," South Dakota) within four months of this morning's appointment."
• Diogenes notes some interesting things about Bishop-elect Swain: "Bishop-elect Paul Swain was raised as a Methodist and trained as a lawyer. He came into the Catholic Church while serving as counsel to the Governor of Wisconsin, then left that job to enter the seminary. Long before that, he served in Vietnam, where he won a Bronze Star."
• Catholic Explorer of Illionois has coverage as well.

Well, you heard it here first... kinda.

And as Dom notes, the Vatican is still having a bit of trouble keeping the diocese of Sioux Falls straight in its mind (confusing it this time in its press release with Sioux City of Iowa). Oh my.