Education
He soon moved to Milwaukee where he studied at Saint Francis Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1866.
archbishop bishop Catholic priest
He soon moved to Milwaukee where he studied at Saint Francis Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1866.
Early years
Born in Ebensee in Upper Austria (then part of the Austrian Empire), Katzer immigrated to Minnesota in 1864. He joined the seminary faculty and taught a variety of subjects, until transferring to Green Bay in 1875. Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Katzer was appointed Bishop of Green Bay on July 13, 1886 after Bishop Francis Krautbauer"s death and served as Bishop until January 30, 1891.
Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Katzer was appointed the third archbishop of Milwaukee.
His nomination was opposed by some Irish Catholics, who felt a policy of "Germanization" of the archdiocese set in place by his predecessors should not be continued. This is reflected in the architecture of many of the city"s early churches, including the historic Old Saint Mary"s Church and the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist.
During his tenure, Katzer was a strong supporter of Catholic schools. He successfully lobbied for the repeal of the Bennett Law in 1890, which would have required all schools to teach in English and was perceived as an attack on immigrants and parochial schools.
The Sisters of the Divine Savior also made their home in Milwaukee at the urging of Katzer, during a visit to Pope Leo XIII in 1895.
Katzer died in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on July 23, 1903 at the age of 59. He is buried in a small cemetery on the grounds of Saint Francis Seminary.