Joseph H. Albers

Joseph H. Albers D.D. (March 18, 1891 – December 1, 1965) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was titular bishop of Lunda, having been appointed by Pope Pius XI in 1929. Albers served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Lansing in Michigan from 1937 until his death in 1965. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in Ohio from 1929 until 1937. He was appointed as an assistant to the papal throne in 1954.

Albers received a Silver Star for his service as a US Army chaplain in France during World War I.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Albers was born on March 18, 1891, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier College and Mount St. Mary College, both in Cincinnati.

Priesthood Albers was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by Archbishop Henry Moeller on June 17, 1916. After his ordination, Albers served as an assistant pastor at Old St. Mary's Parish in Cincinnati.

After the American entry into World War I in 1917, Albers join the US Army Chaplain Corps; he was commissioned as an officer in June 1918. He served in the infantry in France in 1918, seeing combat in battle of Château-Thierry in June and the battle of Saint Mihiel from September 11th to 15th. Albers' final engagement was the Meuse–Argonne offensive, which lasted from late September until the declaration of armistice in November. During 1918, Albers was wounded three times and injured in a mustard gas attack. He received the Silver Star for bravery in action. The Vatican appointed him in 1954 as an assistant at the pontifical throne. In 1954, the diocesan newsletter Catholic Weekly, Lansing began publication; Albers was instrumental in its startup. In 1962, Albers attended the opening session in Rome of the Second Vatican Council. Zaleski automatically succeeded him as Bishop of Lansing. St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1941. To pay for the church, part of the grounds was subdivided and sold. That section is named "Bishop Albers Subdivision". The Diocese of Lansing operates the Bishop Joseph H. Albers Vocations Trust Fund, which provides scholarships to seminarians.