Pope Francis appoints new bishop at La Crosse Diocese, as Callahan announcers retirement

The La Crosse Diocese is getting a new bishop, by way of Detroit.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis announced the retirement of Bishop William Callahan and appointed Gerard Battersby to become the 11th bishop of the diocese.

The 63-year-old Battersby was introduced to the La Crosse community at a morning news conference.

Callahan is stepping down, reportedly for health reasons, after 14 years as leader of the La Crosse Diocese.

At 73, he is two years short of the customary retirement age for bishops and other Catholic church leaders.

Battersby has been an auxiliary bishop in the Detroit area for seven years. During Tuesday’s news conference, the new bishop said that he didn’t know the post in La Crosse was open, but he’s glad that it was.

A special mass to install Battersby as bishop will be held May 20 at St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral.