Background
Alphonse Schladweiler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the third child of Mathias and Gertrude (née Schneider) Schladweiler. Following his mother"s death in 1911, he and his family moved to Madison, Minnesota.
bishop theologian Catholic priest
Alphonse Schladweiler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the third child of Mathias and Gertrude (née Schneider) Schladweiler. Following his mother"s death in 1911, he and his family moved to Madison, Minnesota.
He attended the parochial school of Saint Michael"s Church, where he served as an altar boy. He studied at the Franciscan Minor Seminary in Teutopolis, Illinois, for six years before teaching Latin at Saint Michael"s High School.
He served as Bishop of New Ulm from 1958 to 1975. In 1923, he enrolled at Saint Paul Seminary. Schladweiler was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Austin Dowling on June 9, 1927.
His first assignment was as a curate at the Church of the Nativity in Saint Paul, and he later served at Holy Trinity Church in New Ulm, Saint Michael"s Church in Saint Michael, and Saint Bernard"s Church in Cologne.
He also served as chaplain of Saint Mary"s Hospital in Minneapolis. Schladweiler received his first pastorate at Saint Joseph"s Church in Montevideo.
He later served as pastor of Saint Michael"s Church in Morgan and of Holy Rosary Church in North Mankato. In December 1955, he was appointed pastor of Saint Agnes Church in Saint Paul.
In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as prosynodal judge for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul from 1954 to 1957.
He was raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1957. 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 Saint 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 Massachusetts During his 18-year tenure, he ordained 64 priests and organized Saint Isadore Church in Clarkfield (1960) and Lady of the Lakes Church in Spicer (1962).
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.
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 Saint 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.
