The Most Reverend Paul A. Zipfel, Bishop Emeritus

The Most Reverend

Paul A. Zipfel, 83, passed

away on July 14, 2019, at

Mother of Good Counsel

Home in St. Louis, Mis-

souri.

Mass of Christian buri-

al will be held at 11:30

a.m. Monday, July 22, at

the Cathedral of the Holy

Spirit in Bismarck with

The Most Reverend David

D. Kagan, Bishop of the

Diocese of Bismarck, offi-

ciating. The priests of the

Diocese of Bismarck will

concelebrate. Burial will

immediately follow at St.

Mary’s Cemetery,

Bismarck.

Visitation will be held

on Sunday, July 21, at the

Cathedral of the Holy

Spirit from 2:00-8:00 p.m.

with the Wake Service at

7:00 p.m. Visitation will

continue on Monday, July

22, from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

with the Office of the

Dead prayed at 10:45 a.m.

Bishop Zipfel was born

to Albert Zipfel and Leona

Rau on September 22,

1935, in St. Louis, Mis-

souri. He attended St.

Michael the Archangel

Elementary School in

Shrewsbury, Missouri,

throughout the 1940s.

God’s call to the priest-

hood came to him

through the grace of his

parents and family, parish

priests and the School

Sisters of Notre Dame

who taught him at St.

Michael’s School. He at-

tended St. Louis Prepara-

tory Seminary for six

years and completed his

college training at Kenrick

Seminary in 1957. He

was chosen to attend

Catholic University in

Washington, D.C. where

he received his licentiate

in Sacred Theology. After

ordination to the priest-

hood by Joseph Cardinal

Ritter on March 18, 1961,

he pursued graduate stu-

dies at St. Louis Universi-ty and received his Master

of Arts in Education in

1965. He served in vari-

ous assignments in par-

ishes and schools

throughout the Ar-

chdiocese of St. Louis.

On December 31, 1996,

Bishop Zipfel was ap-

pointed as Bishop of the

Diocese of Bismarck by

the future St. John Paul II.

He was installed as the

Bishop of Bismarck on

February 20, 1997, by The

Most Reverend Harry J.

Flynn, Archbishop of

Saint Paul and Minneapo-lis. He retired from the

Diocese of Bismarck after

faithfully serving for 14

years. After declining

health, Bishop Zipfel

moved to Mother of Good

Counsel Home where he

resided until his death.

Although there was lim-

ited time to pursue one of

his favorite hobbies of

magic, Bishop Zipfel often

used his entertaining

tricks to engage people

and draw them together.

It was his way of breaking

down walls and opening

up conversations whether

about faith matters or

everyday life. It was part

of what made him ap-

proachable and welcom-

ing to anyone who en-

countered him.

A noted storyteller and

speaker, he was awarded

the Great Preacher Award

in 1999 by the Aquinus

Institute of Theology. In

recognition and apprecia-

tion of Bishop Zipfel’s

dedication to young peo-

ple and their formation as

Christian servant leaders,

the University of Mary

named the Catholic Stu-

dies Program in his honor.

Bishop Zipfel is sur-

vived by his brother,

Ralph, of St. Louis, niece

Elizabeth Clamp and

nephews John, Glenn,

Greg and Mark and their

families. Bishop Zipfel

was preceded in death by

his parents, his sister, Sis-

ter Alice Regine Zipfel,

C.P.P.S. and sister-in-law

Barbara Zipfel.

Whether school, office

or parish, he was respect-

ed and loved for his unas-

suming, gentle, generous,

humble and wise ways.

Memorials may be

made to the Bishop Paul

A. Zipfel Endowment

Fund, Diocese of

Bismarck, PO Box 1137,

Bismarck, ND, 58502 or

online at

https://1catholicfoundatio

ndob.weshareonline.org/.

Go to

www.eastgatefuneral.com

to share memories of

Bishop Zipfel and sign the

online guestbook.