Chad William Zielinski | |
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Bishop of New Ulm | |
Diocese | New Ulm |
Appointed | July 12, 2022 |
Installed | September 27, 2022 |
Predecessor | John M. LeVoir |
Previous post(s) |
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Orders | |
Ordination | June 8, 1996 by Patrick R. Cooney |
Consecration | December 15, 2014 by Roger Lawrence Schwietz, Timothy Broglio, Steven J. Raica |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Education | Boise State University Mount Angel Seminary Sacred Heart Major Seminary |
Motto | He must increase |
Styles of Chad William Zielinski | |
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Reference style | |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Bishop |
Chad William Zielinski (born September 8, 1964) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska from 2014 to 2022.
Chad Zielinski was born on September 8, 1964, in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest of five children to Donald and Linda Zielinski. A short time later, the family moved to a farm near Alpena, Michigan. Zielinski graduated from Alpena High School in 1982. [1] After finishing high school, Zielinski joined the United States Air Force (USAF). While stationed in Idaho, he attended Boise State University and Park University at Mountain Home AFB. It was during this period that Zielinski decided to become a priest. [2]
After his discharge from the Air Force in 1986, Zielinski enrolled in Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1989. He continued his studies for the priesthood at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, earning a Master of Divinity degree in 1996.
Zielinski was ordained into the priesthood for the Diocese of Gaylord on June 8, 1996, by Bishop Patrick R. Cooney at St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord, Michigan. [3] After his ordination, the diocese assigned Zielinski to pastoral positions in the following Michigan parishes:
Zielinski was elected to the Presbyteral Council in 1999. Beginning in 2000, he also served as the pastor for administrative affairs of the diocesan Mission to Hispanics.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Bishop Cooney released Zielinski from the diocese to join the USAF Chaplain Corps. He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, celebrating mass with mortar fire in the background. Zielinski was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, from 2002 to 2003 and at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, from 2003 to 2005. Although he was a Catholic chaplain, he had conversations with men and women of all religions. [4]
The USAF then assigned Zielinski to the HQ Air Force Recruiting Service at Randolph Air Force Base in Schertz, Texas, followed by a stint as cadet chaplain at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from 2009 to 2012. From 2012 to 2014, Zielinski served as chaplain at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. [5] Zielinski was promoted to major in 2013. [5] He was discharged from the Chaplain Corps before his installation as bishop.
Pope Francis named Zielinski as bishop of Fairbanks on November 8, 2014. [6] When named to Fairbanks, he became the first active-duty chaplain in the US Armed Forces to be appointed a Catholic bishop. [7] Zielinski was consecrated on December 15, 2014, by Archbishop Roger Schwietz. Archbishop Timothy Broglio and Bishop Steven J. Raica were the principal co-consecrators. [8] The liturgy was held in the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. [5] [3]
In a diocese in which only nine of 46 parishes are accessible by road, the clergy, including Zielinski, spend a large amount of time traveling to small remote villages in rough conditions. [7] Zielinski said:
Not every priest is called to serve in the far north, because winters are dark and cold. But the hospitality of the people is warm and gracious, and we invite priests who feel drawn to serve here to contact us. For the right servant, who will walk with the people, this frontier can be a paradise. [7]
On July 12, 2022, Francis named Zielinski the fifth bishop of New Ulm. [9] He was installed on September 27, 2022. [10] [3]
Edmund Casimir Szoka was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 1997 to 2006. He previously served as Bishop of Gaylord from 1971 to 1981 and Archbishop of Detroit from 1981 to 1990. Szoka was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.
The Diocese of Gaylord is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit.
The Diocese of Fairbanks is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern part of the state of Alaska in the United States. It was formerly named the Prefecture Apostolic of Alaska (1894–1917) and the Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska (1917–1962).
The Diocese of New Ulm is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western Minnesota in the United States.
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Richard Brendan Higgins KC*HS, USAF (ret) is an Irish-born American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Higgins served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA from 2004 to 2020.
Roger Lawrence Schwietz, O.M.I. is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Schwietz served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage in Alaska from 2001 to 2016. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota from 1989 to 2000.
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Patrick Ronald Cooney was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the third Bishop of Gaylord and held the title Bishop Emeritus in that diocese.
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