Lincoln priest appointed Bishop of Wichita

Wichita, Kan., Jan 30, 2005 / 22:00 pm

On Friday, the Holy Father announced the appointment of Michael Jackels, a priest from the diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska who will take over the 25-county Diocese of Wichita, Kansas on April 4^th.

Rev. Kenneth Borowiak, editor of the diocesan newspaper in Lincoln said that Jackels will be “a very good fit for the Diocese of Wichita.”

“He's very orthodox, and that diocese has a great tradition for being faithful to the teachings of the church", Borowiak continued.

The 50-year-old Jackels, who is a native of South Dakota will replace Bishop Thomas Olmsted who the Pope recently appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix.

Since 1997, Jackels has worked in Rome on for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office which deals with Church teaching on faith and morals.

On Friday, at a press conference held in Wichita, the bishop to be said he was eager to take on his new duties as the leader of nearly 117,000 Catholics and 91 parishes.

"I am honored by the Holy Father's choice”, he said, “and by the confidence he has placed in me, but also humbled by it."