“It came as a complete surprise. I wasn’t expecting to be leaving this area, and I certainly was not expecting that call.”
That is Bishop-elect Dan Felton who will be installed as the 10th Bishop of the Catholic Diocese in Duluth, Minnesota three weeks from today. Felton has served as the Vicar General for the past 5-years in Green Bay where he helps the bishop with the governance of the diocese.
Father Dan remembers it was Palm Sunday weekend when his phone rang and the person on the other end was Arch-Bishop Pierre, who is essentially the Pope’s ambassador to the United States. Bishop-Elect Felton told Seehafer News that Archbishop Pierre said to him, “The Holy Father has called you to be the new Bishop of Duluth. Do you say yes to the Holy Father?”
The Appleton native said, “All of a sudden my life was heading in one direction and saying yes to the holy father, and the pope and the holy spirit were taking me in a whole different direction.”
He added, “You hang up the phone and say oh my goodness what just happened here.”
The Bishop-elect was ordained a priest in June of 1981 and his first assignment was under Father Leo Schmitt at the former Holy Innocents Parish where he also served alongside the Reverend Jeff Vanden-Heuvel.
Bishop-elect Felton said, “That parish of Holy Innocence and the Manitowoc community has greatly shaped who I am as a person, as a priest, and as a pastor, and certainly will impact who I am as a Bishop.”
Dan later returned to Manitowoc in 2004 to lead the consolidation of the catholic churches into one parish known as St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
A question he has heard most often from the media in both Green Bay and Minnesota is if he has to become a Vikings fan now, to which he said “My only response to that is I have to go to the scriptures and Jesus gave us the command to love your neighbor, so obviously I have to follow the command of Jesus.”
Felton says he will “always remember and appreciate the people of Manitowoc” for helping him on his faith journey.
The Bishop-elect said his installation mass on Thursday, May 20th can be seen live by going to DioceseDuluth.org.
