Frederick Xavier Katzer (February 7, 1844 – July 20, 1903) was an Austrian-born prelate of the
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 ...
. He served as bishop 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, Mar ...
in Wisconsin (1886–1891) and archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin (1891–1903).
Early life
Frederick Katzer was born on February 7, 1844 in
Ebensee
Ebensee am Traunsee (Central Bavarian: ''Emsee'') is a market town in the Traunviertel region of the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located within the Salzkammergut Mountains at the southern end of the Traunsee. The regional capital Linz lies ...
, in the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
(today part of Austria) to Carl and Barbara Katzer. The family later moved to
Gmunden
Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-c ...
, where Katzer received his early education while also working in a textile factory. In 1857, he entered the
minor seminary
A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...
at
Freinberg
Freinberg is a municipality in the district of Schärding in Upper Austria, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a ...
, where he pursued his classical studies under the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
.
Katzer was recruited by Father
Francis Pierz for missionary work in the United States and, through a grant from the
Leopoldine Society
The Leopoldine Society was an organization established in Vienna for the purpose of aiding Catholic missions in North America. Based on the French model of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Leopoldine Society was founded in 1829 i ...
, he landed in New York on May 19, 1864. After arriving in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, however, the diocese informed him that he was not needed there. Katzer then considered joining the Jesuits, but Father
Joseph Salzmann instead convinced him to come to
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
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 ...
. Katzer completed his theological studies at
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary is a seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, located in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, Wisconsin. Its main building, called Henni Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...
in Milwaukee.
Priesthood
Katzer was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on December 21, 1866 by Bishop
John Henni
John Martin Henni (June 15, 1805 – September 7, 1881) was a Swiss-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1843 until his death in 1881.
Biography
Early life a ...
.
He was appointed to the faculty of Saint Francis Seminary, serving as a professor of mathematics, philosophy, and theology.
[ In 1867, Katzer brought his parents to the United States. they first lived with him at the seminary, then later followed him to Green Bay and Milwaukee until his father's death in 1876 and his mother's death in 1895.
In July 1875, Katzer was transferred to the Diocese of Green Bay and named secretary to the new bishop, Francis Krautbauer.][ He also served as rector of Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay which was dedicated in November 1881. That same year, Katzer was appointed ]vicar general
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...
of the diocese.[
]
Bishop of Green Bay
Following Bishop Krautbauer's death, Katzer was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay on July 13, 1886 by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
.[ He received his episcopal consecration on September 21, 1886, from Archbishop ]Michael Heiss
Michael Heiss (April 12, 1818 – March 26, 1890) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin (1868–1880) and the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwa ...
, with Bishops John Vertin
John Vertin (July 17, 1844 – February 26, 1899) was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette in Michigan, from 1879 until his death in 1899.
...
and John Ireland
John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...
serving as co-consecrators.[
During his tenure, Katzer became an outspoken opponent of the ]Bennett Law
The Bennett Law, officially chapter 519 of the 1889 acts of the Wisconsin Legislature, was a controversial state law passed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1889 dealing with compulsory education. The controversial section of the law was a requi ...
, which required all public and private schools in Wisconsin to teach in English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and was perceived as an attack by German-speaking immigrants. Katzer denounced the law as "a step by which Antichrist is trying to promote its attacks on the Church and accomplish its oppression by the state." In the 1890 election, the bishop strongly endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate George Wilbur Peck
George Wilbur Peck (September 28, 1840 – April 16, 1916) was an American writer and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the 17th Governor of Wisconsin and the 9th Mayor of Milwaukee.
Biography
Peck was born in 1840 in Henderson, ...
, who when elected signed the repeal of the Bennett Law in 1891.[
In Katzer's five years as bishop, the number of Catholic schools increased from 44 with 5,292 students in 1886 to 70 schools with 10,785 students in 1891.
]
Archbishop of Milwaukee
The death of Archbishop Michael Heiss
Michael Heiss (April 12, 1818 – March 26, 1890) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin (1868–1880) and the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwa ...
in March 1890 left the Archdiocese of Milwaukee vacant. To replace Heiss, the bishops of Wisconsin recommended three German-speaking candidates (in order of preference): Katzer, Bishop Kilian Flasch, or Bishop Henry Richter. Some English-speaking Catholics, however, opposed Katzer's nomination out of their desire to assimilate Catholic immigrants into American society rather than maintain their ethnic traditions.[ In particular, Archbishop ]John Ireland
John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...
of St. Paul wrote to Cardinal James Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
to say that Katzer was "a man thoroughly German and thoroughly unfit to be an archbishop."
At a meeting of American archbishops in July 1890, the hierarchy instead named Bishop John Spalding as their top choice, followed by Bishop Martin Marty
Martin Emil Marty (born on February 5, 1928) is an American Lutheran religious scholar who has written extensively on religion in the United States.
Early life and education
Marty was born on February 5, 1928, in West Point
The United Sta ...
and Richter.[ The two lists of candidates, one from the Wisconsin bishops and the other from the country's archbishops, were then sent to the ]Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
. On January 30, 1891, in a victory for German-speaking Catholics, Leo XIII appointed Katzer as the third Archbishop of Milwaukee.[
Katzer soon emerged as a leader of the conservative wing of the American hierarchy, which included Archbishop ]Michael Corrigan
Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902.
Early life
Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in Ne ...
of New York and Bishop Bernard McQuaid of Rochester. In 1899, following the publication of ''Testem benevolentiae nostrae
''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' is an apostolic letter written by Pope Leo XIII to Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, dated January 22, 1899. In it, the pope addressed a heresy that he called Americanism and expressed his concern th ...
'', Katzer praised Leo XIII's condemnation of "the errors called by the name of Americanism with all the more joy and gratitude because the decision of the infallible See appeared to us very opportune." The following year, he wrote a letter to the Vatican protesting the appointment of Bishop John J. Keane as archbishop of Dubuque, claiming that Keane belonged to the "liberal Americanists" and that his appointment to a nearby diocese would be hazardous to Milwaukee.[
His early years as archbishop were dominated by controversies in which Katzer was a prominent figure. ]Peter Cahensly
Peter Paul Cahensly (1838–1923), a German merchant who lived in the Hessian town Limburg an der Lahn. He was a member of the German Reichstag and a wealthy lay officer of the Roman Catholic Church.
During 1866, Cahensly noted that German immi ...
, a wealthy German merchant, presented a report to Leo XIII in April 1891 that claimed Catholic immigrants in the United States were leaving the faith due to a lack of priests and churches of their own nationalities.[ Many disputed the accuracy of Cahensly's report, and one newspaper editor accused Katzer of being "Cahensly's protege" and "conspiring with foreign powers."] Katzer denied those allegations and wrote to Cardinal Gibbons, saying, "If I hold different opinions...is that a reason to belie me in manner which is almost diabolical?"[ He requested Gibbons to confer the ]pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
on him in an August 1891 ceremony where Gibbons forcefully denounced Cahensly and nationalism.
Katzer was a strong critic of Archbishop Ireland's Faribault–Stillwater plan, which would place parochial schools under the public school system with the provision that religious instruction would be given outside school hours. He added his name to a letter written by Archbishop Corrigan opposing the plan, and was considered along with Ireland for presenting both sides of the school question to Rome.[ Katzer was also a leading opponent of secret societies and fraternal organizations, calling for Rome's formal condemnation of the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and ]Sons of Temperance
The Sons of Temperance was and is a brotherhood of men who promoted the temperance movement and mutual support. The group was founded in 1842 in New York City. It began spreading rapidly during the 1840s throughout the United States and parts o ...
. Such a condemnation was later issued by the Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...
in 1894 but bishops were given discretion in publicizing the decree.[
]
Later life and death
At the beginning of Katzer's tenure in 1891, the archdiocese contained 227 priests, 268 churches, and 125 parochial schools to serve a Catholics population of 180,000. By his final year as archbishop in 1903, there were 329 priests, 321 churches, 148 parochial schools, and 280,861 Catholics.
Frederick Katzer died from liver cancer at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...
, on July 20, 1903. He is buried in a small cemetery on the grounds of Saint Francis Seminary.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzer, Frederick
1844 births
1903 deaths
19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
Roman Catholic archbishops of Milwaukee
Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Burials in Wisconsin
Roman Catholic bishops of Green Bay
St. Francis Seminary (Wisconsin) alumni