His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Alphonse James Schladweiler
Bishop of New Ulm
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeDiocese of New Ulm
SuccessorRaymond Lucker
Orders
OrdinationJune 9, 1927
by Austin Dowling
ConsecrationJanuary 29, 1958
by William O. Brady
Personal details
Born(1902-07-18)July 18, 1902
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
DiedApril 3, 1996(1996-04-03) (aged 93)
Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, US
EducationSt. Paul Seminary

Alphonse James Schladweiler (July 18, 1902—April 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of New Ulm from 1958 to 1975.

Biography

Early life

Alphonse Schladweiler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the third child of Mathias and Gertrude (née Schneider) Schladweiler.[1] Following his mother's death in 1911, he and his family moved to Madison, Minnesota.[2] He attended the parochial school of St. Michael's Parish, where he served as an altar boy.[2] He studied at the Franciscan Minor Seminary in Teutopolis, Illinois, for six years before teaching Latin at St. Michael's High School.[2] In 1923, he enrolled at St. Paul Seminary.[1]

Priesthood

Schladweiler was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Austin Dowling on June 9, 1927.[3] After his ordination, Schladweiler served as curate at the following Minnesota parishes:

He also served as chaplain of St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis.[2]

Schladweiler served as pastor at the following parishes:

In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as prosynodal judge for the Archdiocese of St. Paul from 1954 to 1957.[4] He was raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1957.[2]

Bishop of New Ulm

On November 28, 1957, Schaldweiler was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of New Ulm by Pope Pius XII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on January 29, 1958, from Archbishop William O. Brady, with Bishops James Byrne and Hilary Hacker serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Paul.[3] His installation took place at Holy Trinity Church on January 30, 1958.[3]

Between 1962 and 1965, Schaldweiler participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome.[5] Following the conclusion of the Council, he worked to implement its reforms, including introducing English into the Mass.[5] During his 18-year tenure, he ordained 64 priests and organized St. Isadore Parish in Clarkfield (1960) and Lady of the Lakes Parish in Spicer (1962).[2] In 1972, he founded a diocesan newspaper, Newsletter, and the Diocesan Pastoral Council.[5] He also established a mission in Guatemala, assuming responsibility for staffing a parish in San Lucas Tolimán.[5]

Retirement and legacy

Pope Paul VI accepted Schaldweiler's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm on December 23, 1975.[3] He was succeeded by Bishop Raymond Lucker, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.[6]

Schaldweiler later moved to Divine Providence Community Home in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, where he died on April 3, 1996, at age 93.[2] He is buried in the New Ulm Catholic cemetery.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "MONSIGNOR ALPHONSE J.SCHLADWEILER (1955-1957)". Church of st. Agnes. Archived from the original on 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Msgr. Alphonse J. Schladweiler named bishop of New Ulm diocese" (PDF). The Prairie Catholic. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bishop Alphonse James Schladweiler". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  4. ↑ Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Bishop Schladweiler". Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  6. ↑ "Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
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