Gerard William Battersby
Gerard William Battersby was born May 15, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Wayne State University, then an M.Div. (1998) and a Licentiate in the New Evangelization from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit on May 30, 1998, by Cardinal Adam Maida.
Battersby's early ministry combined parish work with seminary formation. He served as Director of Formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary (from 2007) and became Vice Rector (2011). On November 23, 2016, Pope Francis appointed him an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit; he was consecrated a bishop on January 25, 2017, and was associated with the archdiocese's 'Unleash the Gospel' evangelization initiative.
On March 19, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Battersby the eleventh Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman on May 20, 2024, succeeding Bishop William Patrick Callahan. He sits as the ordinary of La Crosse as of mid-2026. His installation homily stressed a Christ-centered, Eucharistic and evangelical spirituality rather than any liturgical-policy program.
Bishop Battersby leads one of the most traditional-friendly sees in the United States: the Diocese of La Crosse was the home of Raymond Cardinal Burke, who as bishop founded the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and entrusted St. Mary's in Wausau to the Institute of Christ the King. The Traditional Latin Mass is offered there daily. Battersby did not build this ecosystem, but he inherited it intact.
The restrictions that matter belong to his predecessor, Bishop William Callahan, not to Battersby. In December 2022 Callahan applied Traditionis Custodes strictly, removing the TLM from parish churches while permitting it to continue at three non-parochial sites: the diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, St. Mary's Oratory in Wausau (Institute of Christ the King), and Cor Jesu Oratory in Boyd/Edson (Institute of St. Joseph, a diocesan public association). There is no FSSP parish; the community is ICKSP plus a diocesan hermit institute.
Under Battersby the status quo has held. He has issued no restriction, and as recently as March 2026 the diocese's own 'Catholic Life' publication featured the Cor Jesu / Institute of St. Joseph Latin Mass community positively, indicating the three TLM sites remain active and in good standing. In a period when the Vatican pressed several U.S. dioceses to end diocesan TLMs outright in 2025, La Crosse's persistence is a quiet positive-by-omission signal. But Battersby has not spoken on the matter, so his personal disposition remains unproven. The honest verdict is deeds-based and provisional: he has preserved what he inherited and suppressed nothing, but has not yet acted or spoken in a way that earns the label 'friend.' Too early to judge.