Robert D. Gruss


Robert Dwayne Gruss is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Saginaw since 2019. He previously served as Bishop of Rapid City from 2011 to 2019.

Biography

Early life

Robert Gruss was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, on June 25, 1955. He attended Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, earning an associate degree. Gruss then received his commercial pilot license from the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked as a flight instructor and commercial airline pilot from 1980 to 1989. He is a member of the National Association of Priest Pilots.
After deciding to enter the priesthood, Gruss enrolled at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, where he earned a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1990. He traveled to Rome to attend the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, where he earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1993 and a Master in Spiritual Theology degree in 1994.

Priesthood

After returning to Iowa, Gruss was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Davenport by Bishop William Franklin at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport on July 2, 1994.
After his 1994 ordination, the diocese assigned Gruss as parochial vicar of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport, Iowa. He served the same role for three parishes in central Iowa from 1997 to 1998;
Bishop William Franklin appointed Gruss as vocations director in 2004 and chancellor in 2005. Pope Benedict XVI named him a chaplain of his holiness, with the title of monsignor, in August 2007.Gruss returned to Rome in 2007 to serve as vice-rector of the Pontifical North American College. Back in Iowa in 2010, he was assigned as pastor and rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Bishop of Rapid City

Gruss was named the bishop of Rapid City by Benedict XVI on May 26, 2011. His episcopal consecration took place on July 28, 2011, at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. Archbishop John Nienstedt was the consecrating bishop, and Bishops Martin Amos and Samuel Aquila were the co-consecrators. In 2017, Gruss opened the cause for the canonization of Lakota medicine man Nicholas Black Elk.

Bishop of Saginaw

Gruss was named Bishop of Saginaw by Pope Francis on May 24, 2019. Gruss was installed on July 26, 2019. In remarks to the media, Gruss made this statement about sexual abuse by priests:
“There is no place in the church for sexual abuse of minors or anyone else, My desire is that the Church becomes holy in the way that Christ calls her to be, and those who abuse their power and authority are held to accountability.”

In an appearance on Cause for Joy, a diocesan podcast, Gruss revealed his hobbies of riding "horses and Harleys".