R. Walker Nickless

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bishop Nickless

Ralph Walker Nickless (born May 28, 1947) is a Roman Catholic Bishop. Originally a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver, Nickless was named the Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City by Pope Benedict XVI.

Bishop Nickless was born in Denver, Colorado, one of ten children born to R. Walker Nickless and E. Margaret McGovern Nickless. He has four brothers and five sisters. His mother died in early 2006, shortly after her son's ordination as Bishop.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) This article has been tagged since June 2006.

Nickless was ordained a priest of the Denver Archdiocese on August 4, 1973. He had served in a variety of functions while in Denver. Nickless was appointed Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa on November 10, 2005. He was formally installed and ordained as Bishop on January 20, 2006 in a ceremony at the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Sioux City. Archbishop Jerome Hanus of the Archdiocese of Dubuque was the principal consecrator as the Dubuque Archdiocese is the metropolitan diocese for the state. The co-consecrators were Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput of Denver and Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island.

Nickless has had to deal with the fallout from the sexual abuse scandal that has touched the rest of the church. The fallout was especially severe in the Sioux City diocese as former diocesan Bishop Lawerence Soens had been accused of abusing children. Nickless was scheduled, along with the other two Bishops and Archbishop in Iowa to meet with victim's advocate groups on February 2, 2006, but his mother's death and subsequent funeral prevented him from attending the meeting. Nickless has indicated that he would attend future meetings.