New bishop for New Ulm Diocese named

Jul. 12—NEW ULM — Pope Francis has appointed a 57-year-old Alaskan bishop to lead the Diocese of New Ulm.

Chad W. Zielinski's appointment as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm was announced Tuesday by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Zielinski will be installed Sept. 27.

Zielinski has served as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska since 2014. As bishop of New Ulm, he succeeds Bishop John M. LeVoir, who retired in 2020.

Monsignor Douglas L. Grams has served as diocesan administrator since Aug. 10, 2020.

The eldest of five siblings in his family, Zielinski grew up in Michigan. He served in the U.S. Air Force before his call to serve as a priest. Zielinski earned a degree in philosophy in 1989 from Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon.