Diocese of Lansing | Office of the Bishop

History of the bishops of Lansing

Bishop Joseph H. Albers was the founding bishop, sent to Lansing in 1937 and serving 28 years until his death in 1965.

Bishop Alexander M. Zaleski was the second Lansing bishop, serving 10 years. He was an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Detroit when he was sent to Lansing in 1964 as Apostolic Administrator and Coadjutor Bishop of Lansing with immediate right of succession and assumed the full Bishop's role upon Bishop Albers' death in 1965.

Bishop Kenneth J. Povish was the third bishop at the helm, having assumed the responsibility after Bishop Zaleski's death in 1975. Bishop Povish, a native of Michigan, came to Lansing after five years as Bishop of Crookston, Minnesota. Bishop Povish died September 5, 2003.

Reverend Monsignor Carl F. Mengeling of the Diocese of Gary, Indiana was appointed to serve as the fourth Bishop of Lansing upon his Ordination and Installation on January 25, 1996.

The following gives some brief biographical data of the past three Lansing bishops:

A native of Cincinnati, Joseph H. Albers was born in 1891 and attended parochial schools in Corryville, Ohio. After receiving his preparatory education at St. Gregory and St. Francis Colleges, and his philosophical and theological education at Mt. St. Mary in Cincinnati, he was ordained a priest in 1916. Fr. Albers' first appointment was as an assistant at St. Mary's in Cincinnati.

As the United States entered World War I, Fr. Albers sought to serve his country, and was commissioned as a chaplain for the armed forces on June 1, 1918. He served overseas with the infantry, and took part in several battles including San Mihiel, the Argonne and Chateau Thierry. Chaplain Albers was wounded three times and gassed, and received the Silver Star for bravery and valor before his discharge from service in 1919. Returning to priestly work in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, he was appointed secretary to Archbishop Moeller, who had ordained him three years earlier, and also appointed Assistant Chancellor of the Archdiocese. He continued in these roles, adding parish work as well for six years, then was made Chancellor of the Archdiocese and became a Monsignor in 1926. Then he studied canon law for two years at Appollionare University in Rome, becoming a Doctor of Canon Law.

Upon return to the United States, Msgr. Albers resumed his post as Chancellor of the Archdiocese, and in 1929 at the age of 38, was consecrated a bishop, making him one of the youngest bishops in the country, as Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati. He continued in this role until he was assigned to establish the new Lansing Diocese in 1937.

The year 1954 marked the 25th anniversary of Bishop Albers' consecration as a bishop, and in August of that year, he was honored with appointment as Assistant at the Pontifical Throne.

Several years later, Bishop Albers found himself in failing health, and he asked for help in the administration of the diocese. Msgr. Michael J. Green, pastor of St. Joseph parish in St. Johns and Vice Chancellor of the Lansing Diocese, who a few years earlier had been secretary to Bishop Albers, was consecrated a Bishop and appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Lansing.

On Oct. 7, 1964, the Most Rev. Bishop Alexander M. Zaleski was sent from the Archdiocese of Detroit to new duties in Lansing, and as eventual successor to the ailing Bishop Albers, who died on Dec. 1, 1965. One of seven children, Alexander M. Zaleski was born in Laurel, N.Y., on June 24, 1906.

He attended preparatory school in New Jersey, and then went to St. Mary's College at Orchard Lake, Michigan, and the American College at the University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ordained as a priest in 1931 in Louvain. The new Fr. Zaleski was an assistant pastor at a couple of Detroit parishes before returning to Europe for scripture studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, from 1932-35.

Returning to Michigan, he became Professor of Scripture at St. Mary's College and SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake. In 1937, he became Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Detroit under Archbishop and later Edward Cardinal Mooney. Fr. Zaleski became a Monsignor in 1946.

In 1949, Msgr. Zaleski was assigned to his first pastorate, at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Pontiac. But it was only briefly. The next year, Pope Pius XII appointed Alexander M. Zaleski as Titular Bishop of Lyrbe and Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, serving first under Cardinal Mooney and later under Archbishop and then John Cardinal Dearden. Bishop Zaleski was appointed Vicar General of the Detroit Archdiocese in 1956.

Eight years later, with Lansing Bishop Albers in failing health, Bishop Zaleski was transferred to Lansing and in 1965 he became second Bishop of Lansing. Bishop Zaleski also had heavy responsibility nationally within the Church hierarchy. He was Chairman of the five member committee on Doctrine of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops during critical times, just as the reforms and winds of change fostered by Vatican II reached America. He also was a Trustee of the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Zaleski too, eventually was the victim of failing health, requiring assistance in administration of the Lansing Diocese. Fr. James S. Sullivan was working closely with the chancery as Bishop Zaleski's secretary, vice chancellor, director of the vocations and the liturgy office. On Sept. 21, 1972, Fr. Sullivan was consecrated Bishop and was named as Auxiliary Bishop of Lansing. Bishop Zaleski continued as Bishop of Lansing until his death in 1975.

The third Bishop of Lansing, Kenneth J. Povish, was the only past bishop who was a native of Michigan. He was born in 1924 in Alpena, and attended both parochial and public schools there.

He entered St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids, completed his college work at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, and undertook theological studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Saginaw in 1950, Fr. Povish served as assistant in Rogers City and Bay City before becoming pastor at St. Mary in Port Sanilac, then St. Norbert in Munger. From 1960-66, Fr. Povish was on the faculty of the now-closed St. Paul Seminary in Saginaw, and in 1966 became pastor of St. Stanislaus, in Bay City.

Along with his pastoral duties, Fr. Povish served as Director of Catholic Charities in Bay City and as director of Religious Education for the Saginaw Diocese. Among other interests which attracted his service were the Mexican Apostolate of the Saginaw Diocese and work with the League of Catholic Women, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and All Saints High School in Bay City.

Fr. Povish left Michigan in 1970 when he was appointed as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, where he served until he was transferred to the Diocese of Lansing and installed as its third bishop on Dec. 11, 1975.

In addition to his duties as Bishop, he was also Chairman of two national committees of bishops: the Committee for Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and the Committee on Vocations. Bishop Povish was also a member of the Executive Board of the National Conference of Bishops and on its Committee for Laity and its Committee for Communications.

For a number of years while he was a parish priest in the Saginaw Diocese, Bishop Povish wrote a regular column for the Catholic Weekly newspaper. Upon his return to Michigan as Bishop of Lansing, he again was a regular columnist for the newspaper, and an articulate spokesman for the Faith on a regular television program, called Real to Reel.

After a long battle with cancer, Bishop Povish died on September 5, 2003.

In the 50 year history of the Diocese of Lansing, there have been two auxiliary bishops: Bishop Michael Joseph Green and Bishop James Stephen Sullivan. Bishop Green became auxiliary during the declining years of Bishop Joseph H. Albers. The St. Joseph native was ordained a priest on July 14, 1946, in the same church of St. Joseph parish where he had been baptized in 1917. After serving a year as secretary and notary of the diocesan Marriage Tribunal, he was sent to Rome in 1951. He returned to the diocese in 1954 with a summa cum laude doctorate in Canon Law from the Lateran University.

After two years as Bishop Albers' secretary, in 1957 Fr. Green was appointed pastor of St. Joseph parish in St. Johns. He assumed the position of vice chancellor at the same time. In December 1959, Fr. Green was invested as a domestic prelate. Msgr. Green was consecrated a Bishop at St. Mary Cathedral on August 28, 1962.

Five years later in 1967, Bishop Green was transferred to Reno, Nevada, as the ordinary of the diocese. He resigned from the Reno Diocese in 1974 and returned to the Lansing Diocese. He served as pastor of St. Joseph, Adrian, from 1975 until his retirement in 1979. He died August 30, 1982, and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, Lansing.

James Stephen Sullivan was our second auxiliary. The Kalamazoo native was ordained at St. Mary Catedral on June 4, 1955, During Bishop Alexander M. Zaleski's tenure that Fr. Sullivan became most closely identified with the chancery. From 1966 to 1969, he served as Bishop Zaleski's secretary and from 1968 to 1972 as vice chancellor. Fr. Sullivan organized and directed the liturgy office for the diocese. The office received national recognition under his direction for its commentator and homily series and for the marriage preparation program "To Love and To Honor." Vocation director was another hat Fr. Sullivan wore before he became Auxiliary Bishop of Lansing in September 1972.

Upon Bishop Zaleski's death, Bishop Sullivan was appointed Administrator of the diocese until the appointment of Bishop Povish. In February 1978, Bishop Sullivan became a pastor for the first time at St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing, where he remained until his appointment as Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota, in May 1985.

The Lansing Diocese has additionally produced three bishops, whose most important service has occurred beyond Diocesan boundaries.

The first native son of the diocese to become a member of the Church's hierarchy was Joseph Rademacher who was born in the parish of St. Peter in Westphalia in 1840. He as ordained a priest for the diocese of Fort Wayne in August 1864. After serving as chancellor of the diocese, he was consecrated Bishop of Nashville, Tennessee on June 24, 1883. In 1893, Bishop Rademacher was transferred to the Diocese of Fort Wayne where he died in January 1900.

When Kalamazoo was created a diocese on July 21, 1971, Fr. Paul Vincent Donovan, the pastor of St. Agnes in Flint, became its bishop. Although born in Iowa, he attended St. Mary Cathedral High School in Lansing. He was ordained May 20, 1950, at St. Mary Cathedral and celebrated his first Mass as a priest at Resurrection, Lansing.

After two stints as Bishop Albers' secretary and receiving a licentiate in Canon Law from the Lateran University in Rome, he became a pastor in 1959. Fr. Donovan remained at Our Lady of Fatima, Michigan Center, from 1959 until his appointment to St. Agnes in January 1968. He has now guided the diocese of Kalamazoo for 16 years.

Msgr. Albert Koenigsknecht, M.M., was a native of Most Holy Trinity Parish, Fowler. In 1942, the young seminarian decided to join the Maryknoll Missioners. He was ordained at Maryknoll, New York, on June 10, 1945. With the exception of three years in Mexico, Msgr. Koenigsknecht spent his entire priesthood serving the Church in Peru.

In 1973, Msgr. Koenigsknecht was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Juli Prelature with a population of about 350,000 people. An Apostolic Administrator has the rank of a bishop without the privilege to ordain. Msgr. Koenigsknecht died in an automobile accident in February 1986 in Peru.

The Diocesan Shield (Coat of Arms)

The Diocese of Lansing has a unique shield as part of its ecclesiastical heraldry. The See City is in Ingham County. The coat of the Ingham family featured a cross ending at each arm in curves, like the flukes of an anchor. As Lansing is at the confluence of the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers, an anchor-cross appears an appropriate form.

The cross is in blue and silver, the heraldic colors of Our Lady, and these colors are adopted because the Cathedral Church is dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Behind the cross are two lances in Our Lady's colors to suggest the Cathedral of the See City, Lansing. Thus is produced a Diocesan coat of arms which indicates that the Diocese is ready to fight (as witness the inclusion of lances); so the Diocese is ready to bear arms for the Faith under the banner and the colors of Our Lady.

The colors of the Diocesan Coat of Arms are: in the upper right quarter and the lower left quarter the hooked cross and the lance are in blue on silver background. In the upper left quarter and the lower right quarter, the hooked cross and the lance are on a blue background. The designer of the shield, which goes back to the founding of the Diocese 50 years ago, was the late Chaignon LaRose, who formerly taught English at Harvard University.

Written by Msgr. George Michalek

All information contained in this document is exclusive property of the Diocese of Lansing, 300 West Ottawa Street, Lansing, MI. 48933-1157, (517) 342-2440.