Joseph Leopold Imesch (born June 21, 1931 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan) is an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Joliet from 1979 to 2006.
Joseph Imesch was born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, to Dionys and Margaret (née Margelisch) Imesch.[1] After attending Catholic elementary schools in Grosse Pointe, he attended Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College in Detroit, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953.[2] He then continued his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1957.[2] While in Rome, he was ordained to the priesthood on December 16, 1956.[3]
Following his return to Michigan, Imesch served as a curate at St. Charles Church in Detroit until 1959, when he became private secretary to Cardinal John Francis Dearden.[1] He then served as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Farmington from 1971 to 1977.[1] On February 8, 1973, Imesch was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Pomaria by Pope Paul VI.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 3 from Cardinal Dearden, with Bishops Walter Joseph Schoenherr and Thomas Gumbleton serving as co-consecrators.[3] He continued to serve at Our Lady of Sorrows until becoming regional bishop of the Northwest Region of the Detroit Archdiocese in 1977.[2]
On June 30, 1979, Imesch was appointed the third Bishop of Joliet, Illinois, by Pope John Paul II.[3] His installation took place at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus on August 28, 1979.[3] Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he served as chairman of Committee on Women in Society and the Church (1982-1985), Committee Writing the Pastoral on the Concerns of Women (1983-1992), and Committee for Pastoral Practices (1995-1998), and a member of the Marriage and Family Life Committee (1994-1997), Committee for Stewardship (1995-2002), and Administrative Board (2001-2003).[2] From 2001 to 2003, he was chairman of Region VII, which includes dioceses in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.[2]
Shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Imesch resigned as Bishop of Joliet on May 16, 2006.[3] He was succeeded by Bishop J. Peter Sartain.
| Preceded by Romeo Roy Blanchette |
Bishop of Joliet in Illinois 1979—2006 |
Succeeded by J. Peter Sartain |