Joseph Melcher (March 18, 1807 – December 20, 1873) 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 ...

who served as the first 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 from 1868 until his death in 1873.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Melcher was born March 18, 1807, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

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, ...

to Mathias and Theresa (née Loibl) Melcher. In 1814, the family moved to

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where Matthew Melcher had been appointed administrator of the property of

Francis IV, Duke of Modena Francis IV Joseph Charles Ambrose Stanislaus (Italian: ''Francesco IV Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao d'Asburgo-Este''; 6 October 1779 – 21 January 1846) was Duke of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola (from 1815), Duke of Massa and Prince of Carr ...

. Joseph Melcher studied philosophy and theology in Modena, obtaining the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

Priesthood

Melcher was ordained a priest in Italy on March 27, 1830, by Bishop Adeodato Antonio Caleffi. After his ordination, Melcher served as a chaplain to German Catholics in Modena. in 1842 or 1843, Melcher was recruited by Bishop

Joseph Rosati Joseph Rosati (30 January 1789 – 25 September 1843) was an Italian-born Catholic missionary to the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, ...

to return with him to the United States and work in what was then the Diocese of St. Louis. Melcher arrived in Missouri in 1843. As Rosati had died during the voyage, Melcher was greeted by his successor, Bishop Peter Kenrick. Melcher's first assignment was as a missionary in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. After Little Rock was elevated to a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

, Melcher was recalled to Missouri and assigned as a pastor in St. Louis County from 1844 to 1846. He accompanied Bishop Kenrick to the sixth

Provincial Council of Baltimore Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

in 1846, and regularly went to Europe to recruit priests for the diocese. In 1847, Melcher 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 and pastor of St. Mary of Victories Parish, which served German Catholics in St. Louis. On July 23, 1853, Melcher was named the first bishop of the new Diocese of Quincy in Illinois and administrator of the vacant Diocese of Chicago by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. Melcher never was installed there.

Bishop of Green Bay

Melcher was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay on March 3, 1868. He received his episcopal consecration on July 12, 1868, in St. Louis from Archbishop Kenrick, with Bishops

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 ...

and Henry Juncker serving as co-consecrators. When Melcher arrived in the new diocese, there were 16 priests and a Catholic population of 40,000 people. By the end of his five years as bishop, the number of priests had increased to 56 and the Catholic population to 60,000. He also began the preparatory work for the new cathedral. From 1869 to 1870, Melcher attended the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

in Rome. Joseph Melcher died in

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 December 20, 1873, at age 67.

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