Bishop Chad Zielinski: From Active Duty to Alaskan Shepherd
From Northern Michigan to the Middle East, to the remote reaches of North America, and now back in the rural Midwest, Bishop Chad Zielinski, 57, has served the Church’s peripheries, bringing the life of Christ to members of the armed forces, native Alaskans and small-town parishioners alike. On Sept. 27, he was installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, an appointment that follows decades of physically demanding ministry.
Serving God and Country
Born and raised in Michigan, Zielinski enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from high school, attracted by service to the greater good of society, a sense of patriotism, a desire for travel, and the educational opportunities available. In the Air Force, he became involved in the military base’s close-knit parish community and helped teach religious education.
“I was close friends with the Catholic chaplain, and I got to see what he did on a day-to-day basis. God was stirring within me the desire for ministry, and people would say, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a priest?’ God works through all that,” he told the Register Oct. 3.
A priest encouraged Zielinski to enter seminary to discern if God was calling him to the priesthood. After four years of active duty, Zielinski entered Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, where he earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in philosophy in 1989. He continued his formation as a seminarian for the Diocese of Gaylord and received his Master of Divinity degree in 1996 from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 1996.
