From Small Town Boy to Bishop

The story below was originally published in The Athenaeum, MTSM’s bi-annual magazine. The Athenaeum is published twice a year for alumni, patrons and friends of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Heidi Walsh at 513.233.6159 or hwalsh@athenaeum.edu.

In June 2023, upon his 75th birthday, the Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr submitted his request for retirement. By the time it is formally accepted by the Holy See and his successor as the Archbishop of Cincinnati is appointed, Schnurr will have spent nearly half of his priestly ministry as a bishop. His work as a bishop has included time as Bishop of Duluth in Minnesota, Coadjutor Archbishop to the late Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk in Cincinnati and, finally, Archbishop of Cincinnati.

After growing up in the small town of Hospers, Iowa (population 701), Schnurr’s seminary formation took place at the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before beginning priestly ministry in his home diocese, the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. After three years as a parish priest, then-Fr. Schnurr moved to Washington D.C. to begin advanced studies at The Catholic University of America from which, in 1980, he earned his Doctorate in Canon Law.

Fr. Schnurr was then assigned to the Bishop’s Office in the Diocese of Sioux City where he served as Chancellor, Finance Officer, a judge on the diocese Tribunal and Secretary as well as Master of Ceremonies for Bishops Frank H. Greteman and Lawrence D. Soens.

“Getting a degree in canon law is very important for learning how the Church functions,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “Taking that and going into the Bishop’s Office in Sioux City, I learned how a smaller diocese functions. I had to wear several hats because I was not surrounded by the size of staff that I now have.”

After five more years in the Diocese of Sioux City, Fr. Schnurr was given an assignment back in Washington, D.C. in 1985 where he spent 16 years between the Apostolic Nunciature (1985-89) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops-United States Catholic Conference (now known as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, or USCCB).

“At the Nunciature, I was responsible for preparing canonical answers to questions that the bishops would pose to the Nuncio,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “When I was at the Bishops Conference, I was answering questions the bishops were posing to me. When I got word that I would be named the Bishop of Duluth, I did not panic. Because of my experience in dealing with episcopal matters at the Nunciature and the Bishops’ Conference and my time in the Bishop’s Office in the Diocese Sioux City, I thought to myself, ‘With God’s help, I can do this’.”

In April 2001, Fr. Schnurr was installed as the eighth Bishop of Duluth. While many of the roles of the office were familiar to him, the Diocese of Duluth itself was new to him.

“Even though I was not a parish priest, the people of Duluth immediately warmed up to and accepted me,” Archbishop Schnurr recalled. “I don’t know if I was surprised, but that was comforting. I spent the first couple of years in Duluth going every place I could and accepting every invitation I received. That not only allowed me to get to know the diocese geographically, but it allowed me to get to know and listen to the people.

“When I first got to Duluth, the parishioners had two concerns: finances and not enough priests. I committed myself to both of those things,” Archbishop Schnurr continued. “And, if I had to say so myself, I’d say we were successful.”

In the process of kick-starting vocations in Duluth, Bishop Schnurr knew what needed to be done from his time at the Bishops Conference.

“When I was General Secretary (1995-2001), it fascinated me why some dioceses were strong in priestly vocations and some were not,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “I went to the conference’s Director for Vocations and Priestly Formation, then-Father Edward Burns (now the Bishop of Dallas) and he said it made all the difference in the world if the bishop was involved. When I got to Duluth, our Vocations Director was also the Vicar General, and that was too much for one person, so I took over as Vocations Director.”

Among the actions he took was to establish Andrew Dinners, to which prospective seminarians come to get more information to aid their discernment, and visited seminarians once a year (the Diocese of Duluth sent seminarians to St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota, Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and Mundelein Seminary in Illinois). Bishop Schnurr wanted to personally work to increase vocation, but he knew he needed help.

“A good friend and priest in the diocese, Fr. Richard Kunst, was very excited about vocations and helped me quite a bit,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “I needed a priest in the field. The bishop talking to potential seminarians is not always effective. In addition, I had the help of a permanent deacon who did the office work.”

Another approach Bishop Schnurr implemented to increase vocations was a diocesan Prayer for Vocations. Many in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are familiar with this approach, given our own Prayer for Vocations we have been praying since Archbishop Schnurr arrived.

“Like I did in Cincinnati, I introduced a Prayer for Vocations but did not mandate it be said at Mass,” Archbishop Schnurr noted. “I requested it be said, and it was gradually picked up.”

By the time Bishop Schnurr left Duluth for Cincinnati, priestly vocations had tripled. In the Diocese of Duluth, from 2001 to 2008, the number of seminarians went from 8 to 24 men studying for the priesthood.

While Bishop Schnurr brought many strategies with him to grow vocations, one big change upon his arrival in Cincinnati was having Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology in his own backyard.

“Having the seminary nearby allows me to get to know the seminarians better,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “In Duluth, we would have a summer gathering and Christmas gathering at my house, but during the year they were scattered around the Midwest. Now, it is easier for me to get to know our seminarians, especially with the numbers between Mount St. Mary’s and the college seminarians.”

While it is important for Archbishop Schnurr to know the men studying to be priests for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, he also values the opportunity to host and get to know the men from other sending dioceses. These include seminarians from the archdioceses of Indianapolis and Louisville, and the dioceses of Charlotte, Columbus, Kansas City-St. Joseph and Toledo.

“I have all the seminarians over to my house once a year by class, and that is for all the dioceses, not just Cincinnati,” the Archbishop stated. “I tell the men who are not from Cincinnati that I am grateful to their bishops for sending them to our seminary. Having men beyond Cincinnati in the seminary gives a picture of the much larger Church, the Church Universal. That gives them a better feel for the Church in this country.”

Synodality has been a theme of Pope Francis’ time as Pontiff, culminating in the Synod that has taken place in recent years. While this has become a point of emphasis for the Universal Church, Archbishop Schnurr also sees synodality at work here, in the history of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

“During my chemotherapy and treatments, I have been rereading the history of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” the Archbishop said. “At first, the Bishop of Cincinnati had to rely on the lay people when there were not enough priests to keep up with immigration, but then when land and trustee disputes popped up, the bishop had to take back control. In the United States over the last couple of decades, the bishops have relied a lot on the lay people.”

While Archbishop Schnurr was required, as all bishops are, to submit his request for retirement on his 75th birthday, he also knew it would not be immediately accepted.

“The Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia (Bishop Mark E. Brennan), is a classmate of mine and sixteen months older than me, and he is still in place,” Archbishop Schnurr noted. “This Bishop of Sioux City (Bishop R. Walker Nickless) submitted his letter a year before me and he is still waiting. When I submitted my request for retirement to the Nuncio, he called me to confirm that he received it and would forward it to Rome, but also told me not to hold my breath. It is not a quick turnaround.”

However, one day the call will come, his resignation will have been accepted and his new title will be, “Archbishop Emeritus”.

“Just as when Archbishop Pilarczyk said to me he would help out however he can, I hope that I’ll be able to tell my successor that I can and will continue to help out,” Archbishop Schnurr concluded. “I would love to assist with Confirmations or being a weekend associate. My priesthood will continue.”