Alphonse James Schladweiler


Alphonse James Schladweiler was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of New Ulm from 1958 to 1975.

Early life and education

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

Priesthood

Schladweiler was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Austin Dowling on June 9, 1927. His first assignment was as a curate at the in St. Paul, and he later served at in New Ulm, in St. Michael, and in Cologne. He also served as chaplain of St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis.
Schladweiler received his first pastorate at in Montevideo. He later served as pastor of in Morgan and of in North Mankato. In December 1955, he was appointed pastor of in St. Paul. In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as prosynodal judge for the Archdiocese of St. Paul from 1954 to 1957. He was raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1957.

Episcopacy

On November 28, 1957, Schaldweiler was appointed the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of New Ulm by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on January 29, 1958, from Archbishop William O. Brady, with Bishops James Joseph Byrne and Hilary Baumann Hacker serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Paul. His installation took place at Holy Trinity Church on January 30, 1958.
Between 1962 and 1965, Schaldweiler participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome. Following the conclusion of the Council, he worked to implement its reforms, including introducing English into the Mass. During his 18-year tenure, he ordained 64 priests and organized St. Isadore Church in Clarkfield and in Spicer. In 1972, he founded a diocesan newspaper, Newsletter, and the Diocesan Pastoral Council. He also established a mission in Guatemala, assuming responsibility for staffing a parish in San Lucas Tolimán.

Later life and death

Schaldweiler retired as Bishop of New Ulm on December 23, 1975. He was succeeded by Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
He later moved to Divine Providence Community Home in Sleepy Eye, where he died at age 93. He is buried in the New Ulm Catholic cemetery.