Bishop Joseph L. Imesch was born on June 21, 1931, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, to Dionys and Margaret (Margelisch) Imesch. He went to elementary school at St. Ambrose and Paul schools in Grosse Pointe, Mich. He attended Sacred heart Seminary High School and College in Detroit where he received his bachelor's degree. He attended the North American College in Rome where he received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University. He was ordained Dec. 16, 1956, in Rome.

Upon returning to Michigan, he was appointed assistant pastor at St. Charles Parish in Detroit, from 1957-1959 and was secretary to John Cardinal Dearden, Archbishop of Detroit, from 1959-1971. he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows parish in Farmington, where he served from 1971-1977.

He was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit on April 3, 1973. In 1977 he was assigned as regional bishop of the Northwest Region. On Aug. 28, 1979, he was installed as the third bishop of the Joliet Diocese.

Bishop Imesch currently serves on the board for Catholic Relief Services. He is also a member of the committee for Stewardship; is a member of the National Council of Catholic Bishops' Committee for Pastoral Practices; is a member of the board of trustees of Archdiocese of Chicago Seminaries and is a member of the retired religious grant review board. He has also served as chairman of the NCCB Committee for Pastoral Practices; served as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for Hispanic Affairs; served as a member of the board of directors at Sacred Heart School of Theology, Hales Corners, Wisc.; served as chairman of the NCCB Committee on Women in Society and the Church; as chairman of NCCB Committee Writing the Pastoral on the Concerns of Women; was a member of the Marriage and Family Life Committee and served on the Ad Hoc Committee for Catholic Telecommunication Network of America.