Archbishop Bernard Hebda congratulated the next bishop of Duluth “with great Easter joy and gratitude” following the early morning announcement April 7.

Pope Francis named Father Daniel Felton, a priest of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, bishop-elect of Duluth. The appointment was announced 5 a.m. Central Time. His episcopal ordination and installation as bishop is planned for May 20.

“I very much look forward to collaborating with him as he joins the bishops of our state in providing pastoral leadership,” Archbishop Hebda said in an April 7 statement. “I have long admired from afar his ministry and service in the Diocese of Green Bay and am delighted that he will be bringing his rich experiences and gifts to the people of northeastern Minnesota.”

Bishop-elect Daniel Felton

Bishop-elect Felton, 66, has served as vicar general for the Diocese of Green Bay since 2014. He is also currently the moderator of the curia. He was born in Virginia but grew up in Wisconsin. He holds a degree in religious studies and psychology from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin (1977); a master’s degree in theology from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota (1981); and a master’s degree in social communications and a licentiate in sacred theology in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy (1980).

He was ordained a priest in 1981 by Bishop Aloysius Wycislo for the Green Bay Diocese, and he has ministered in several parishes. He serves as a member of the Green Bay diocesan College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council, Bishop Advisory Council, Personnel Board, Diocesan Finance Council, St. Norbert Board of Trustees, and Silver Lake College Board of Directors. He is also a member of the National Advisory Council of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has also served as the director of affiliate affairs for the Catholic Telecommunications Network of America in New York.

Bishop-elect Felton is expected to be ordained the 10th bishop of Duluth. He follows Bishop Paul Sirba, who died unexpectedly at age 59 in December 2019. Bishop Sirba was a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis prior to his appointment to Duluth in 2009.

“We are grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for sending us our next bishop in this joyful Easter season,” said Father James Bissonette, diocesan administrator for the Diocese of Duluth, in an April 7 statement from the Diocese of Duluth. “We look forward to getting to know Bishop-elect Felton and beginning this new chapter in our walk of faith together under his leadership as our next shepherd.”

In June 2020, Pope Francis appointed Father Michel Mulloy, a priest of the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, as bishop-elect of Duluth, with an ordination scheduled for October 2020. In September, Father Mulloy resigned from that role following an allegation of child sexual abuse in the 1980s. Father Mulloy remains on administrative leave in the Diocese of Rapid City.

Established in 1889, the Diocese of Duluth encompasses Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St. Louis counties in northeast Minnesota. Its has 71 parishes and more than 44,000 Catholics.

In his April 7 statement, Archbishop Hebda asked for prayers for Bishop-elect Felton. “In this Year of Saint Joseph, please join me in seeking Saint Joseph’s intercession for Bishop-elect Felton, as well as for the faithful of the Dioceses of Duluth and Green Bay in this time of transition.”