1. Michael Heiss was a German-born American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1881 to 1890.
22 Facts About Michael Heiss
1. 2.
Michael Heiss previously served as the first Bishop of La Crosse.
3.
Michael Heiss was born on April 12,1818, in Pfahldorf in the Kingdom of Bavaria, to Joseph and Gertrude Heiss.
4.
Michael Heiss received confirmation when he was only two years old because his parents feared they would be without a bishop for a prolonged period of time due to tension between church and state.
5.
Michael Heiss then entered the University of Munich, where he originally studied law but switched to theology after deciding to join the priesthood.
6.
Michael Heiss completed his studies at the Collegium Willibaldum, a seminary in Eichstatt, Bavaria.
7.
Michael Heiss was ordained a priest in Bavaria for the Diocese of Louisville by Bishop Karl-August von Reisach on October 18,1840.
8.
Because, at age 22, he was younger than the age requirement for ordination, Michael Heiss was granted a dispensation by Pope Gregory XVI.
9.
Michael Heiss briefly served as a curate in Raitenbuch, Bavaria and afterwards in Pleinfeld, Bavaria.
10.
In December 1842, Michael Heiss emigrated to the United States, where the diocese assigned him as pastor of Mother of God Parish, a German immigrant parish in Covington, Kentucky.
11.
In 1856, after Michael Heiss returned to Wisconsin, Henni appointed him as rector of St Francis de Sales Seminary in St Francis, Wisconsin.
12.
Michael Heiss opened Christ King Chapel at the seminary in 1861.
13.
Michael Heiss served as rector at St Francis until 1868.
14.
Michael Heiss was consecrated at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Milwaukee on September 6,1868, by Henni.
15.
In 1870, Michael Heiss traveled to Rome to attend the First Vatican Council.
16.
The sisters had previously worked with Michael Heiss, managing the household responsibilities at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary.
17.
On March 14,1880, Michael Heiss was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Leo XIII to assist Henni.
18.
On September 7,1881, after Henni's death, Michael Heiss automatically succeeded him as archbishop of Milwaukee.
19.
Michael Heiss promoted the teaching of English in the parish schools and worked to recruit more American women into the religious orders.
20.
In 1884, Michael Heiss attended the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore.
21.
Michael Heiss died in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on March 26,1890, at age 71.
22.
Michael Heiss was buried at Christ King Chapel in St Francis de Sales Seminary.