Dear Faithful,
Annuntio Vobis Gaudium Magnum – I bring you news of great joy! It is with honor and great pleasure that I, currently the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Madison, announce that His Holiness, Pope Francis, has appointed Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, the Fifth Bishop of Madison.
The youngest of six sons, Bishop Donald J. Hying was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. Bishop Hying received his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and his master’s degree from St. Francis Seminary. On May 20, 1989, Bishop Hying was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. His first priestly assignment was as a parochial vicar for St. Anthony Parish, Menomonee Falls, from 1989 to 1994. Fr. Hying served as a Team Member for La Sagrada Familia Parroquia, Dominican Republic from 1994 to 1997.
He returned to the United States and served as the parochial administrator of St. Peter Parish (1998), then as the parochial vicar of St. Anthony Parish, Milwaukee, from 1998 to 1999. He was then appointed the pastor of Our Lady of Good Hope Parish, Milwaukee from 1999 to 2005. In 2006, Fr. Hying served as the parochial administrator of St. Augustine Parish, Milwaukee in 2006. He became the Dean of Formation at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary from 2005 to 2007, and was appointed the rector of St. Francis de Sales Seminary by Most Reverend Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, and served from 2007 until 2011.
On May 26, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Donald Hying the Titular Bishop of Regiae and the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was consecrated a bishop on July 20, 2011. On November 24, 2014, His Holiness, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Hying as the Fourth Bishop of Gary (Indiana), to succeed Most Reverend Dale Joseph Melczek, who had submitted his resignation as the Bishop of Gary, as required when he reached the age of 75. Bishop Hying’s installation in the Diocese of Gary took place on January 6, 2015. On April 25, 2019, Thursday within the Octave of Easter, His Holiness, Pope Francis, appointed Most Reverend Donald J. Hying the Fifth Bishop of Madison (Wisconsin), to succeed Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, deceased, of happy memory.
We are deeply grateful to Pope Francis for his pastoral solicitude in appointing Most Reverend Donald J. Hying as the Bishop of Madison. Please join us in prayer to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for Bishop Hying and his episcopal ministry, as we look forward to his installation as the Fifth Bishop of Madison. “Caritas Numquam Excidit – Love Never Fails” (1 Cor 13:8).
Resurrexit Sicut Dixit,
Msgr. James Bartylla,
Diocesan Administrator