Chad William Zielinski (born September 8, 1964) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska from 2014 to 2022.

Biography

Early life and education

Chad Zielinski was born on September 8, 1964, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, the eldest of five children to Donald and Linda Zielinski. A short time later, the family moved to a farm near

Alpena, Michigan Alpena ( ') is the only city and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City and Cadillac ...

. Zielinski graduated from Alpena High School in 1982. After finishing high school, Zielinski joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF). While stationed in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, he attended

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

and Park University at

Mountain Home AFB Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...

. It was during this period that Zielinski decided to become a priest. After his discharge from the Air Force in 1986, Zielinski enrolled in

Mount Angel Seminary Mount Angel Abbey is a Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks located in Saint Benedict, Oregon, northeast of Salem, it was established in 1882 from Engelberg Abbey, in Switzerland. The abbey, located on the top of Mount Angel, a , has its ow ...

in St. Benedict, Oregon, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1989. He continued his studies for the priesthood at

Sacred Heart Major Seminary Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Detroit, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 2016–2017, 107 seminarians, representing eleven dioceses and two religious orders were enrolled in cla ...

in Detroit, earning a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1996.

Priesthood

Zielinski was ordained into the priesthood for the

Diocese of Gaylord The Diocese of Gaylord () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical pr ...

on June 8, 1996, by Bishop Patrick R. Cooney at St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord, Michigan. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Zielinski to pastoral positions in the following Michigan parishes: *

Parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at Immaculate Conception in

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County. The city's population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, while the four-county Traverse C ...

(1996 to 1998) * Pastor of St. Philip Neri in

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

and St. Rita-St. Joseph in Maple City (1998 to 2000) Zielinski was elected to the Presbyteral Council in 1999. Beginning in 2000, he also served as the pastor for administrative affairs of the diocesan Mission to Hispanics.

Military service

After the

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

of September 11, 2001, Bishop Cooney released Zielinski from the diocese to join the

USAF Chaplain Corps The Chaplain Corps of the United States Air Force (USAF) is composed of both clergy—commissioned Officer (armed forces), officers who have been endorsed and ordained by a religious organization—and enlisted Religious Affairs. As Chaplain#M ...

. He served combat tours in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, celebrating mass with mortar fire in the background. Zielinski was stationed at

Grand Forks Air Force Base Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado, North Dakota, Emerado and west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks. The host unit is the 319th Air Base ...

in Grand Forks, North Dakota, from 2002 to 2003 and at

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall , is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a List of Royal Air Force stations, ...

in Suffolk, England, from 2003 to 2005. Although he was a Catholic chaplain, he had conversations with men and women of all religions. The USAF then assigned Zielinski to the HQ Air Force Recruiting Service at

Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...

in Schertz, Texas, followed by a stint as cadet chaplain at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from 2009 to 2012. From 2012 to 2014, Zielinski served as chaplain at

Eielson Air Force Base Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. It was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field and redesignated Eielson Ai ...

in Fairbanks, Alaska. Zielinski was promoted to major in 2013. He was discharged from the Chaplain Corps before his installation as bishop.

Bishop of Fairbanks

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Zielinski as bishop of Fairbanks on November 8, 2014. When named to Fairbanks, he became the first active-duty chaplain in the

US Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except ...

to be appointed a Catholic bishop. Zielinski was consecrated on December 15, 2014, by Archbishop Roger Schwietz. Archbishop

Timothy Broglio Timothy Paul Andrew Broglio Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), KC*HS (born December 22, 1951) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who has served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, ...

and Bishop Steven J. Raica were the principal co-consecrators. The liturgy was held in the

Carlson Center The Carlson Center is a 5,100-seat multi-purpose arena in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It is the second largest arena in Alaska by seating capacity after the Sullivan Arena which is in Anchorage. It is home to the University of Alaska Fairba ...

in Fairbanks. In a diocese in which only nine of 46 parishes are accessible by road, the clergy, including Zielinski, spend a large amount of time traveling to small remote villages in rough conditions. Zielinski said:

Bishop of New Ulm

On July 12, 2022, Francis named Zielinski the fifth bishop of New Ulm. He was installed on September 27, 2022.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm Official Site

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zielinski, Chad 1964 births Boise State University alumni Living people Clergy from Detroit Military personnel from Detroit People from Alpena County, Michigan United States Air Force chaplains Mount Angel Seminary Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord Roman Catholic bishops of Fairbanks Roman Catholic bishops of New Ulm 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Michigan Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Catholics from Michigan