Fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City
Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore was born on April 23, 1942 in Pittsburg, Kansas. He attended St. Mary's Elementary School from 1947 to 1956; St. Mary's High School from 1956 to 1959, and gradated from St. John Vianney High School in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1960.
He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception, MO from 1960 to 1962. From 1962 to 1963, he worked for Catholic Social Service in Wichita in the Cuban Refugee Program. He worked with approximately 20 Cuban boys at what was then called Mariana House.
He attended the University of Ottawa in Canada from 1963 to 1969. He received two degrees in Philosophy, a B.A. and a B.Ph. and three degrees in Theology.
On June 7, 1969, Father Ronald M. Gilmore was ordained to the priesthood.
His first pastoral assignment was at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Wichita. From 1971 to early 1973, he then returned to Canada for doctoral studies in Theology.
In 1973, he was assigned to the Passionist Monastery in St. Paul, KS, doing weekend supply work in various parishes.
He was assigned to the Church of the Magdalen, Wichita, from 1973-1975 and he also worked in the Chancery Office as the Assistant Chancellor.
From 1975-1981 he was assigned to St. Teresa Parish, Hutchinson. During this time his primary duties were at Trinity High School where he worked as chaplain and teacher of religion, and at Holy Family Center, Wichita, where he acted as Chairman of the Executive Committee and as a teacher of religion.
He was appointed administrator of St. Agnes Church, Castleton, from August 1981 to June 1982.
In June of 1982, he was appointed the first pastor of the new St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish on the west edge of Wichita.
He was appointed chancellor in August of 1983 and was appointed Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in June of 1988.
In May 1998, he was elevated to the rank of monsignor.
He was ordained and installed as the fifth Bishop of Dodge City on July 16, 1998.
The Coat of Arms of the Most Rev. Ronald M. Gilmore
A coat of arms identifies a person or an institution through the stylized arrangement of graphic symbols. In the case of a bishop, additional symbols are included to indicate his position: the processional cross and the tasseled hat. The hat takes the place of the military helmet found so frequently in the coat of arms of families.
Significance - Diocese of Dodge City
Looking at the shield, the left half displays the coat of arms of the Diocese of Dodge City. The Spanish colors red and gold predominate as a reference to the explorer Coronado, and the 16th century missionary Father Padilla who worked in the territory that is now the Diocese of Dodge City.
The vertical bar dividing this section refers to the longitudinal meridian that runs through Dodge City. This bar is again divided to indicate that the Central Time Zone also runs exactly through the See City.
At the honor point of this section a golden circle becomes a repository for the symbol of the Sacred Heart, the titular of the Cathedral. This medallion is composed of Gold, signifying the Divinity of Christ, and of red, the color of His humanity. On either side of the vertical bar are two Indian arrowheads. They represent both the Indian wars of Colonel Henry Dodge as well as the Diocese of Wichita from which the Diocese of Dodge City was carved in 1951. The embattlements in the upper section are the heraldic equivalent of fortifications that marked Dodge City as a frontier town. The hawk surmounting the embattlements represents the hero of the Black Hawk Indian War, Colonel Dodge, who brought peace to the Mississippi Valley.
Significance - Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore
The right half of the shield displays the personal coat of arms of Bishop Gilmore.
A silver (white) field is taken from the Gilmore family coat of arms and honors the life and heritage that has come from his parents Leo and Maxine (McColm) Gilmore. On this field is a tree which is taken from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Wichita, his home diocese in which he has served in many priestly capacities until the call to undertake the pastoral care of the people of the Diocese of Dodge City as bishop. This call is placed under the protection of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, symbolized by the blue star in the upper right of the design.
For his motto, His Excellency, Bishop Gilmore, has selected a phrase which is part of the 46th Psalm. Here in praise of the Lord, the Psalm tells the people to " 'be still and know' that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted over the earth" (Ps. 46:10). In using this phrase Bishop Gilmore expresses his deep belief that for all Christians it is necessary to stop and put the aspects of our humanity aside, to praise God and to realize that He is God and that we respect Him for everything that we are and everything that we do comes from Him who is to be exalted over all the earth.
The coat of arms is completed with a gold processional cross, and with the pontifical hat, called a gallero, with its six tassels in three rows, on either side of the shield, all in green. These are the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop by instruction of the Holy See, dated the 31st of March 1969.
