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Frederick Katzer

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Installed
  
January 30, 1891

Term ended
  
July 23, 1903

Predecessor
  
Buried
  
St. Francis Seminary

Ordination
  
December 21, 1886

Name
  
Frederick Katzer


Frederick Katzer

Other posts
  
Bishop of Green Bay (1886–1891)

Birth name
  
Frederick Xavier Katzer

Born
  
February 7, 1844Ebensee, Austria (
1844-02-07
)

Died
  
July 23, 1903, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Place of burial
  
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, St. Francis, Wisconsin, United States

Alma mater
  
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary

Frederick Xavier Katzer (February 7, 1844 – July 23, 1903) was an Austrian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay (1886-1891) and the third Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin (1891–1903).

Contents

Early years

Born in Ebensee in Upper Austria (then part of the Austrian Empire), Katzer immigrated to Minnesota in 1864. He soon moved to Milwaukee where he studied at St. Francis Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1866. 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 St. Mary's Church and the Cathedral of St. 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 St. Francis Seminary.

References

Frederick Katzer Wikipedia


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