William P. Callahan

William Patrick Callahan, OFM Conv. (born June 17, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate serving as Bishop of La Crosse from 2010 to May 2024. He is a member of the Conventual Franciscans.

Callahan previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. After Archbishop Timothy Dolan was named Archbishop of New York, Callahan was elected the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, serving until November 14, 2009.

Early life and education
Callahan was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William and Ellen Callahan. The youngest of four children, he has two sisters, Roberta and JoAnn, and one brother, Jerry. William Callahan attended St. Mary of Perpetual Help Church in Chicago as a child.

Deciding that he wanted to become a priest, Callahan applied to the Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, but was rejected. He instead entered the Franciscan-run St. Mary Minor Seminary in Crystal Lake, Illinois in 1964. He attended a junior college in Chicago in 1968 for one year.

In 1969, Callahan was accepted at the novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans (Minorites) in Lake Forest, Illinois. He made his profession to the Minorites on August 11, 1970. Callahan then attended Loyola University Chicago, obtaining a bachelor's degree in radio and television communications in 1973. He then moved to Toronto, Ontario, to study at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1976.

Ordination and ministry
Callahan was ordained to the priesthood in Milwaukee at the Basilica of St. Josaphat for the Minorites by Archbishop William Cousins on April 30, 1977. After his 1977 ordination, the Minorites assigned Callahan as curate at St. Josaphat.

He returned to Illinois in 1978 to serve as director of vocations for the Minorites for the next six years. He was named associate pastor in 1984 of Holy Family Parish in Peoria, Illinois; he was appointed pastor of that parish in 1987.

The Minorites transferred Callahan back to Milwaukee in 1994 to become rector and pastor of St. Josaphat. He oversaw the basilica's $7.5 million restoration, earning himself a reputation as an able fundraiser. In 2005, Callahan went to Rome to serve as spiritual director of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee
On October 30, 2007, Callahan was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee and titular bishop of Lares by Pope Benedict XVI. Callahan received his episcopal consecration on December 21, 2007, from Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. His co-consecrators were Bishop Richard J. Sklba and Archbishop John Myers.

Callahan is the first Minorite to be appointed as a bishop in the United States, and was the first auxiliary bishop to be named to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee since 1979. Following Dolan's appointment as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York in February 2009, Callahan was elected as the diocesan administrator of Milwaukee on April 20, 2009. He oversaw the daily administration of the archdiocese until Benedict XVI named Bishop Jerome Listecki as the new archbishop in November 2009.

Bishop of La Crosse
On June 11, 2010, Callahan was appointed bishop of La Crosse by Benedict XVI, succeeding Listecki. On August 11, 2010, Callahan was installed as bishop.

In August 2020, before the 2020 United States presidential election, Reverend James Altman, pastor of St. James the Less Parish in LaCrosse, stated in a YouTube video that “You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat”, due to the party's support of legal access to abortion. He encouraged Catholic Democrats to “repent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell.” In July 2021, Callahan removed Altman as pastor of St. James and banned him from public preaching. The next day, in defiance of Callahan's order, Altman gave the benediction at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida. In November 2022, Callahan appointed the parochial administrator of St. James as its pastor.

Pope Francis accepted Callahan's resignation from office on March 19, 2024 for health reasons.