15 Facts About Winand Wigger

Winand Michael Wigger was a German American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

Winand Wigger served as the third Bishop of Newark from 1881 until his death.

Winand Wigger was born in New York City to John Joseph and Elizabeth Wigger, who immigrated to the United States from Westphalia in the late 1830s.

Winand Wigger was a sickly child and the family returned to Germany in December 1843 in the hope that a sea voyage might better his health.

Winand Wigger graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in July 1860.

Winand Wigger was instead accepted at Seton Hall Seminary in the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey.

Winand Wigger lessened the debt to some degree, but his hard work caused his health to suffer.

Winand Wigger was the founding pastor of St Teresa of Avila in Summit from 1874 until 1876, when he returned to St Vincent's in Madison.

Winand Wigger constructed a new rectory for St Vincent's in 1877.

Winand Wigger made Seton Hall Seminary one of the chief objects of his solicitude, and even established his residence there.

Winand Wigger was fiercely hostile to alcohol abuse, and even ordered in 1884 that the last rites of the Church be denied to those who sold alcohol to minors or drunkards.

Winand Wigger met conflict with the German-speaking immigrant population who were attracted to non-Catholic societies and religions; the Bishop was committed to preserve the faith of the German immigrants.

Winand Wigger appointed his first vicar general in 1885, attended the Third Council of Baltimore, and held the fifth diocesan synod in November 1886, at which strict regulations were enacted in regard to funerals and attendance at parochial and public schools.

Winand Wigger even threatened excommunication against Catholic parents who sent their children to non-Catholic schools, and unsuccessfully attempted to introduce state legislation to secure the state's support for Catholic schools.

Winand Wigger broke ground in January 1898, and laid the cornerstone in June 1899.