Aloysius John Wycisło (June 17, 1908 – October 11, 2005) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who served as the eighth

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Green Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay ( la, Diocesis Sinus Viridis) was established on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX. It covers the city of Green Bay, as well as Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marinet ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, from 1968 to 1983. Previously he was an auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Biography

Early life and education

Wycisło was born in 1908 to Simon and Victoria Czech Wycisło in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He attended St. Mary of Czestochowa School in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

;

Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood. Located in downtown Chicago at 103 East Chestnut Street, a ...

(high school) in Chicago; Mundelein Seminary at the

St. Mary of the Lake Seminary The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. It was ...

Mundelein, Illinois Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States and a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 31,560. It is approximately thirty-five miles northwest of Chicago. History The community now known as M ...

; and

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in Washington, D.C., where he earned a master's degree in social work.

Ordination and ministry

He was ordained on April 7, 1934, by Cardinal

George Mundelein George William Mundelein (July 2, 1872 – October 2, 1939) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1915 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924. Early life and ministry ...

at the

University of St. Mary of the Lake The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a Private university, private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and theology, school of theology for the formation of priests in the Roman Catholic ...

. During

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and into the 1950s, he served in Catholic War Relief Services, established refugee camps in the Middle East, India, and Africa, and later worked coordinating aid throughout Eastern and Western Europe at the request of the Polish American Relief Organization.
Steven M. Avella, ''This Confident Church: Catholic Leadership and Life in Chicago, 1940–1965'', Notre Dame, 1992, pg. 57 He was among the first American priests to enter Poland after the Second World War and he reported that the postwar Polish government had forbidden mentioning the pope in the press and in Polish churches.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

Wycisło was consecrated a bishop on December 21, 1960, and served as auxiliary bishop to Cardinal

Albert Gregory Meyer Albert Gregory Meyer (March 9, 1903 – April 9, 1965) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1958 until his death in 1965, and was appointed a cardinal in 195 ...

of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In September 1962, Cardinal Albert Meyer of the Archdiocese of Chicago asked Bishop Wycisło to direct the Chicago diocese's observance of Poland’s millennium of Christianity. Bishop Wycisło handled all the preparations including arrangements for the presence of the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, who served Poland during the Communist occupation period and was imprisoned from 1953 to 1956 for his religious position within the church.

Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)

Bishop Wycisło was a Council Father from the first session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, which opened Oct. 11, 1962, to the concluding liturgy for the entire Council, Dec. 8, 1965. In addition to attending all the sessions, he served as a member of the American Bishops’ Commissions on the Lay Apostolate and on the Missions and the Oriental Church. He met and became friends with

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, then-Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, and who became Pope John Paul II.

Bishop of Green Bay

He was appointed Bishop of

Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay ( la, Diocesis Sinus Viridis) was established on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX. It covers the city of Green Bay, as well as Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, Kewaunee, Lan ...

(

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

) on March 8, 1968, by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. Bishop Wycislo was officially installed to this Diocese on April 16, 1968.A History of the Diocese of Green Bay
His episcopal motto was ''Caritati Instate'' (Be Steadfast in Charity). Wycisło retired on June 17, 1983, his 75th birthday, when he submitted his letter of resignation to the Holy See. He remained active during his retirement by performing confirmations. On his death in 2005 at the age of 97, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and also was one of the few living Fathers of the

Author

Bishop Wycisło was an author as well, he wrote ''

Vatican Two The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...

Revisited; Reflections by One who was there '', The

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

, along with many other titles.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wycislo, Aloysius John 1908 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American people of Polish descent Participants in the Second Vatican Council Clergy from Chicago Religious leaders from Illinois Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Roman Catholic bishops of Green Bay Catholic University of America alumni University of Saint Mary of the Lake alumni Writers from Chicago Writers from Green Bay, Wisconsin Catholics from Illinois