1. Joseph Melcher was an Austrian-born prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin from 1868 until his death in 1873.
14 Facts About Joseph Melcher
1. 2.
Joseph Melcher was born March 18,1807, in Vienna in the Austrian Empire to Mathias and Theresa Melcher.
3.
In 1814, the family moved to Modena, Italy, where Matthew Melcher had been appointed administrator of the property of Francis IV, Duke of Modena.
4.
Joseph Melcher studied philosophy and theology in Modena, obtaining the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
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Joseph Melcher was ordained a priest in Italy on March 27,1830, by Bishop Adeodato Antonio Caleffi.
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Joseph Melcher accompanied Bishop Kenrick to the sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore in 1846, and regularly went to Europe to recruit priests for the diocese.
7.
In 1847, Joseph Melcher was appointed vicar general of the diocese and pastor of St Mary of Victories Parish, which served German Catholics in St Louis.
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John Henni 8.
On July 23,1853, Joseph Melcher was named the first bishop of the new Diocese of Quincy in Illinois and administrator of the vacant Diocese of Chicago by Pope Pius IX.
9.
Joseph Melcher was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay on March 3,1868.
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Joseph Melcher received his episcopal consecration on July 12,1868, in St Louis from Archbishop Kenrick, with Bishops John Henni and Henry Juncker serving as co-consecrators.
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When Joseph Melcher arrived in the new diocese, there were 16 priests and a Catholic population of 40,000 people.
12.
Joseph Melcher began the preparatory work for the new cathedral.
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From 1869 to 1870, Joseph Melcher attended the First Vatican Council in Rome.
14.
Joseph Melcher died in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on December 20,1873, at age 67.