Diocese of La Crosse names new bishop

By Patrick Lynn

Bishop Gerard Battersby is set to be installed in May as the new bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, succeeding Bishop William Patrick Callahan, who is retiring.

Pope Francis announced Tuesday that he had accepted Callahan’s retirement request and appointed Battersby as the 11th bishop of the diocese, according to a news release from the Diocese of La Crosse.

The Diocese of La Crosse, which covers 19 counties across central and western Wisconsin, includes 156 parishes serving a community of 875,000 people, with 135,000 of them being Catholic, the release stated.

The diocese also encompasses more than 6,500 Catholic school students in seven Catholic high schools and 58 other Catholic schools in the area.

Battersby, 63, is a native of Detroit and received a Master of Divinity degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1998. He was ordained into the priesthood and served in parish ministry for 10 years before becoming director of graduate seminarians and graduate pastoral formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

In 2011, he was appointed vice-rector and dean of seminary formation and ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit.