Fifth bishop of Diocese of New Ulm announced
New bishop hopes to reverse trend of declining church membership
Pope Francis named Bishop Chad W. Zielinski, 57, the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm on Tuesday. The selection was announced by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Later, in front of the parish at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm, Zielinski was introduced by Monsignor Douglas Grams, who has been serving as diocesan administrator since August 2020. Zielinski’s installation is on Sept. 27.
Before his appointment, Zielinski served as Bishop to the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska since December 2014.
“I can’t be thankful and appreciative enough in [that] when you leave a place that the people love you and you love, it’s not easy,” Zielinski said. “But you come here, seeing the smiling faces, and the sense of ‘I’m back home.’”
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Two of the challenges that the church faces currently are “spiritual apathy” and declining numbers of church membership, Zielinski said. He also hoped for parishioners to be unapologetic about their faith.
“It’s almost like there is a disrespect or a disdain for anything that comes forth with Christian values,” he said. “Obviously, we have the freedom to believe what we want and not push it in somebody’s face. But, it’s almost like there’s a diabolical advancement in our society. Evil tries to confront the goodness that Jesus is about spreading on this earth.”
Zielinski succeeds Bishop John M. LeVoir, who led the diocese from July 2008 until his retirement in August 2020. The diocese reached a $34 million settlement with sexual abuse survivors in 2020. LeVoir apologized to survivors, and said the diocese had already been changing its policies to prevent abuse within the church.
Zielinski also has a lengthy military career, having served as chaplain for the U.S. Air Force and served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He retired from chaplaincy with the rank of major in January 2017.