Pope Francis has appointed an Iowa parish priest as the new Bishop of Rapid City. The Rev Scott Bullock succeeds Bishop Peter Muhich, who died of cancer in February.
Bishop-elect Bullock has been pastor of St Edward Parish in Waterloo, part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, for the past decade.
The 60-year old is a native of Michigan. He earned bachelor’s degrees in engineering from Delaware in 1981 and industrial engineering in 1985 from the General Motors Institute before turning to the clergy.
Father Bullock began pre-theology studies at St John’s University in Minnesota, then earned a sacred theology degree in 1991 from the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
He was ordained 33 years ago and went on to receive a licentiate in canon law in 1997 from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and a master’s degree in English from Southern New Hampshire University in 2015.
His entire career as a priest has been in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, serving as an associate pastor or sacramental priest for several parishes over his first 20 years before becoming a pastor, first in Dubuque and then in Waterloo.
He also taught at a Catholic high school for 2 years, director or associate director of seminarians for 15 years at St Pius X Seminary – where he also served as rector for 11 years.
Father Bullock has also been Judge for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Dubuque since 1997 and was Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese from 2010 to 2020.
The Diocese of Rapid City covers 43,000 square miles in western South Dakota and has a total population of 230,087 – including nearly 24,000 Catholics.