#BreakingNews Sudden Death of Bishop Paul Sirba at Church due to Cardiac Arrest - RIP to the Bishop of Duluth at the age of 59

FULL TEXT Release from Diocese of Duluth: (in Northeastern Minnesota, USA)
Bishop Paul Sirba has died
Dec 1, 2019

 With sad hearts, we share the following message regarding the sudden death of our beloved Bishop Paul Sirba that was sent out to diocesan clergy and employees this morning and which is being announced at Masses today.

Following is the message from Father Bissonette, who has served as Bishop Sirba’s vicar general:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must inform you of tragic news regarding our Bishop. Bishop Paul Sirba suffered cardiac arrest at St. Rose Church in Proctor, MN this morning, December 1st. He was rushed to Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, where life-saving measures were attempted, but were unsuccessful. He was attended to by Father John Petrich who administered the last rites to him at the hospital. He was declared to have passed away at just after 9:00 A.M. this morning. Words do not adequately express our sorrow at this sudden loss of our Shepherd. We have great hope and faith in Bishop Sirba’s​ resurrection to new life, and have confident assurance that he will hear the words of our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter in the joy of your Master.”

Arrangements for Bishop Sirba’s funeral Mass and burial will be forthcoming. Please pray for the repose of Bishop Sirba’s soul, as well as for his mother, Helen, and his siblings, Father Joe, Kathy, and John, and their families. Let us also hold each other up in prayer during this most difficult time.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord ...
- And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace ...
- Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God ...
- Rest in peace, Amen.

Reverend James B. Bissonette
Diocese of Duluth
Source: https://www.dioceseduluth.org/
Biography of Bishop Paul D. Sirba from the Diocese Website:
 Bishop Sirba was the ninth Bishop of Duluth. The son of Norbert (deceased) and Helen Sirba, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 1986. He has two brothers: Father Joseph Sirba (a priest of the Diocese of Duluth) and John (Sue Ann) Sirba and one sister, Catherine (Scott) Kelly. He has 13 nieces and nephews and three grand-nephews. He was raised in Bloomington, Minn., and attended Nativity of Mary Grade School, the Academy of the Holy Angels, the College of St. Thomas, and the St. Paul Seminary.
He received his Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul Seminary and a Master of Arts degree from the Notre Dame Apostolic Catechetical Institute in Arlington, Va. After his ordination he served as associate pastor at the Church of St. Olaf, Minneapolis, from 1986 to 1990; at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Savage, from 1990 to 1991; as a member of the spiritual formation department at St. John Vianney Seminary, St. Paul, from 1991 to 2000; as pastor of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin, St. Paul, from 2000 to 2006; and as spiritual director at the St. Paul Seminary from 2006 to 2009. He was appointed vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis by Archbishop John C. Nienstedt on July 1, 2009. Bishop Sirba was ordained a bishop on Dec. 14, 2009.
 For the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Bishop Sirba has served as a Region VIII representative on the Priorities and Plans Committee and as a member of the Administrative Committee; he is a member of the Catholic Home Missions Committee.