Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay

When French explorer Jean Nicolet entered the Green Bay areas in 1634, he was followed by Jesuit missionaries.[3] It became part of the French colony of New France.Reverend Claude-Jean Allouez celebrated Mass with a Native American tribe near present day Oconto on December 3, 1669, the feast of St. Francis Xavier. He established the St. Francis Xavier Mission there. The mission moved to Red Banks for a short time in 1671, and then to De Pere, where it remained until 1687, when it was burned. The missionaries worked with the Fox, Sauk, and Winnebago tribes, protected by Fort Francis near Green Bay. When the fort was destroyed in 1728, the missionaries left the area.[3]

By 1825, the Green Bay area was part of the United States. The first new Catholic church in over 100 years was constructed in Fort Howard in 1825. Its parishioners included many French Canadians living in the settlement. The next church to go up in the area was called St. John the Evangelist. Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded St. John the Evangelist in 1831, now the longest continually used church in Wisconsin.[3] In the early 19th century, St. John's church members spoke mainly French. Other early parishes included:

• St. John Nepomucene in Little Chute, 1836
• Holy Maternity of Mary, Manitowoc Rapids, 1848
• St Edward, Mackville, 1849
• St. Luke, Two Rivers, 1851
• St. Anna, St. Anna, 1851
• St. Peter, Oshkosh, 1853
• St. Mary (now St. Francis Xavier Cathedral), Green Bay, 1854[3] (German parish)
• St. Willebrod 1864 Green Bay (Dutch parish)
• St. Patrick 1865 Green Bay

In 1868, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Green Bay and named Monsignor Joseph Melcher of the Diocese of St. Louis as the first bishop of Green Bay. When Melcher arrived in the new diocese, there were 16 priests and a Catholic population of 40,000 people.[4] By the end of his term as bishop, the number of priests increased to 56 and the Catholic population rose to 60,000.[5] Melcher also began the preparatory work for the erection of the new cathedral.

Although the Green Bay area had many French-Canadian Catholic residents, their numbers during the 19th century. New settlements were populated by other European immigrants pouring into Wisconsin.[3] These immigrants then formed their own ethnic churches. Melcher died in 1873.

In 1875, Monsignor Francis Krautbauer from the Diocese of Buffalo was appointed by Pope Pius IX to succeed Melcher as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.[6] During Krautbauer's ten years in Green Bay, the number of Catholics in the diocese increased from 60,000 to 70,000, the churches from 92 to 126, and the priests from 63 to 96.[7][8] By 1880, the diocese had 44 parochial schools with over 5,000 students.[8] Krautbauer oversaw the planning and construction of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, laying its cornerstone in 1876 and consecrating it in 1881. Krautbauer died in 1885.

The next bishop of Green Bay was Monsignor Frederick Katzer from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, named by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. In Katzer's five years as bishop, the number of Catholic schools increased from 44 with 5,292 students in 1886 to 70 schools with 10,785 students in 1891.[9]During this period, the growth of the English language in the area gradually weakened the bonds of the ethnic churches.[3] In 1890, Leo XIII appointed Katzer as archbishop of Milwaukee.

To replace Katzer in Green Bay, Leo XIII selected Reverend Sebastian Messmer as the next bishop in 1891. During his 11-year tenure, Messmer encouraged the growth of parochial schools and other religious institutions.[10] He also invited Abbot Bernard Pennings to establish the Norbertine Order in the United States, which founded St. Norbert College in De Pere.[10] Messmer was named archbishop of Milwaukee in 1903 by Pope Pius X.

The pope named Monsignor Joseph Fox as the next bishop of Green Bay in 1904. Fox was the first native son of the diocese to become its bishop.[11] During his tenure, Fox built a new episcopal residence, which later became the diocesan chancery and displayed a strong interest in education and advancing the parochial school system.[11] Fox resigned in 1914 and Pope Benedict XV appointed Auxiliary Bishop Paul Rhode from the Archdiocese of Chicago as the new bishop in Green Bay. During his tenure, Fox established ten parishes and 19 parochial schools, and organized the diocesan Catholic Charities and a department of education.[12] In 1944, Pope Pius XII named Bishop Stanislaus Bona from the Diocese of Grand Island as coadjutor bishop to assist Fox.[13]

When Fox died in 1945, Bona automatically succeeded him as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay. During his tenure in Green Bay, Bona founded sixty-seven grade schools, four high schools, Holy Family College, and Sacred Heart Seminary.[14] He also established a diocesan newspaper and adjusted the social welfare program of Catholic Charities to meet new needs, including those of migrant workers.[14]

After Bona's death in 1967, Pope Paul VI selected Auxiliary Bishop Aloysius Wycisło of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the new bishop of Green Bay. He served as bishop in Green bay for 16 years, until his retirement in 1983. Pope John Paul II that same year named Reverend Adam Maida of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as Wycisło's replacement. During his tenure in Green Bay, Maida appointed the diocese's first female chancellor and first female parish director.[15] He also established a diocesan planning council and ministry formation program, initiated a diocesan census, implemented the RCIA process, and raised $9 million through Lumen Christi education endowment campaign.[15]

In 1990, John Paul II appointed Maida as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The pope also named Auxiliary Bishop Robert Banks from the Archdiocese of Boston as the new bishop of Green Bay. Banks retired in 2003. John Paul II then appointed Auxiliary Bishop David Zubik from the Diocese of Pittsburgh to replaced Banks. Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 named Zubik as bishop of Pittsburgh.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay is David L. Ricken, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne. Ricken was appointed by Benedict XVI in 2008.

In January 2019, the Diocese of Green Bay released a list of 46 diocesan clergy who were credibly accused of committing acts of sex abuse..[16] By May 2019, two more names were added to this list.[17] In August 2019, Bishop Ricken came under scrutiny for reportedly shielding former Bishop Joseph Hart during a criminal investigation in 2002, when Ricken was serving as bishop of Cheyenne.[18]

1. Joseph Melcher (1868–1873)
2. Francis Xavier Krautbauer (1875–1885)
3. Frederick F.X. Katzer (1886–1891), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee
4. Sebastian G. Messmer (1891–1903), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee
5. Joseph John Fox (1904–1914)
6. Paul Peter Rhode (1915–1945)
7. Stanislaus Vincent Bona (1945–1967)
8. Aloysius John Wycisło (1968–1983)
9. Adam Maida (1983–1990), appointed Archbishop of Detroit (elevated to Cardinal in 1994)
10. Robert Joseph Banks (1990–2003)
11. David Zubik (2003–2007), appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh
12. David Laurin Ricken (2008–present)

• John Benjamin Grellinger (1949–1974)
• Mark Francis Schmitt (1970–1978), appointed Bishop of Marquette
• Robert F. Morneau (1978–2013)

• Frank Joseph Dewane, appointed Coadjutor Bishop (in 2006) and later Bishop of Venice in Florida
• John Francis Doerfler, appointed Bishop of Marquette in 2013
• Daniel J. Felton, appointed Bishop of Duluth in 2021