Aloysius John Wycislo

Aloysius John Wycisło (June 17, 1908 – October 11, 2005) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983. Previously, he served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1960 to 1968.

Biography

Early life and education Wycisło was born on June 17, 1908, to Simon and Victoria Czech Wycisło in Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Mary of Czestochowa School in Cicero, Illinois; Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary (high school) in Chicago; Mundelein Seminary at the St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois; and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a master's degree in social work.

Priesthood Wycisło was ordained into the priesthood on April 7, 1934, by Cardinal George Mundelein at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. During World War II and into the 1950s, he served in Catholic War Relief Services, establishing refugee camps in the Middle East, India, and Africa. He later coordinated aid throughout Eastern and Western Europe for the Polish American Relief Organization. Wycisło was one of the first American priests to enter Poland after the war. He reported that the postwar communist government in Poland had forbidden mentioning the pope in the press and in Polish churches.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago Wycisło was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago by Pope John XXIII on October 7, 1960. Wycisło was consecrated at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago by Cardinal Albert Meyer on December 21, 1960.

Wycisło served as a council father from the first session of the Second Vatican Council in Rome, from 1962 to 1965. Wycisło served as a member of the American Bishops' Commissions on the Lay Apostolate and on the Missions and the Oriental Church. He met and became friends with Karol Wojtyła, then-Archbishop of Krakow in Poland, who later became Pope John Paul II.

Bishop of Green Bay Wycisło was appointed bishop of Green Bay on March 8, 1968, by Pope Paul VI. Wycisło was installed on April 16, 1968. His episcopal motto was Caritati Instate (Be Steadfast in Charity).

Retirement and legacy On June 17, 1983, his 75th birthday, Wycisło submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of Green Bay to the Vatican. He remained active during his retirement by performing confirmations.

On Aloysius Wycisło's death in Green Bay in 2005 at age 97, he was the oldest living bishop in the United States. He was also was one of the few living bishops who attended the Second Vatican Council.

Publications Vatican Two Revisited; Reflections by One who was there The Saint Peter