Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Donald Hying, 51, auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee, as bishop of Gary, Indiana, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Dale Melczek, 76, from pastoral governance of that diocese.
The appointment was publicized in Washington today by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Donald J. Hying was born August 18, 1963, in West Allis, Wisconsin, and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on May 20, 1989.
On May 26, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee. He was ordained a bishop July 20 of that year. Bishop Hying is fluent in Spanish.
Dale J. Melczek was born November 9, 1938, in Detroit. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1964 and appointed auxiliary bishop of Detroit in 1982. In 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him coadjutor bishop of Gary. He succeeded Bishop Norbert F. Gaughan as bishop of Gary on June 1, 1996.
The Diocese of Gary comprises 1,807 square miles in the State of Indiana and has a total population of 793,759 people, of which 185,100, or 23%, are Catholic.
