Bishop Jerome E. Listecki will leave the Diocese of La Crosse early next year to lead some 675,000 parishioners in Milwaukee.

Listecki was named the 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Saturday by Pope Benedict XVI.

The 60-year-old Listecki, who has led the La Crosse diocese since March 2005, succeeds New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who was named to that post earlier this year.

“I am humbled by my selection as the Archbishop of Milwaukee. I will do my best to fulfill the confidence His Holiness Benedict XVI has placed in me,” Listecki said in a statement.

“Although I look forward to responding to the challenges presented by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, I do regret leaving the Diocese of La Crosse, a diocese that I have grown to love and call home,” he said.

“The priests, religious, deacons, curia staff and lay faithful of the Diocese of La Crosse have made me a better man, a more faithful priest and hopefully a good bishop.”

Listecki’s installation as archbishop is planned for early January. An announcement of the exact date will come from the archdiocese.

Members of the La Crosse  diocese were impressed with the strong leadership, spiritual guidance and insight Listecki brought to his tenure. His ability to adapt to any situation made the news that he’d been tapped to lead the archdiocese of 211 churches less surprising, they said.

“The challenges he faced in La Crosse were met with great courage and great success,” said the Rev. Robert Schaller, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Holmen.

“I think that is why he was selected for Milwaukee,” Schaller said. “He is not a one-dimensional person.”

During his short four years and eight months as bishop, Listecki accomplished much, the Rev. Richard W. Gilles, moderator of the curia, said.

He celebrated and recognized the good things people do by starting the “In His Name” award; developed a pastoral plan to reorganize diocese churches; computerized all parishes in a standard format; and launched a successful $50 million capital campaign.

The diocese was “fortunate to have had him as our shepherd,” Gilles said. “... He is a faithful man who is an inspiration to us all.

“Although he comes from a big city, his roots really are kind of blue collar,” Gilles said. “Here in La Crosse, he made people feel like he could really relate to them.”

Aquinas Catholic Schools President Kurt Nelson said Listecki was a tremendous supporter of Catholic education.

“The people of Milwaukee are really lucky,” Nelson said. “He’s a very good advocate and a really good pastoral leader.”

Listecki was good at working with teachers, students and parents, and helped school officials to develop a strong Catholic identity, bolster academics and make sure the system is being run well, Nelson said. During the Aquinas Middle and High School Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Listecki would lead Mass and interact with the students.

“We’re sad to see him go, but we’re glad to see someone of such a high caliber be called to be an archbishop. It is a wonderful thing for the Church,” Nelson said.

The Rev. Kevin Louis, now pastor at St. Peter parish in Stevens Point, spent Listecki’s first three months as bishop helping him navigate the sprawling Diocese of La Crosse.

“I found him to be a warm and generous and caring man, not only to me but as I watched him out with people,” Louis said.

Listecki was able to find time for prayer, even when his schedule was hectic, Louis said.

“To me personally, he encouraged my faith more,” he said. “It felt more like we were brothers — very much brothers in the priesthood.”

Gilles echoed Louis’ sentiment. He had Listecki as a teacher in seminary and “I feel like I’ve never left,” Gilles said. “He still is very much a teacher and a brother priest. I am proud of him and I love him dearly.

“The people in Rome, the Holy Father, knew what they were doing when they made this appointment,” he said. Listecki offers strong managerial skills and has degrees in canon law, civil law and moral theology.

Listecki’s appointment is effective immediately, but he will remain diocesan administrator in La Crosse until his installation in Milwaukee. Once the La Crosse position is vacant, the six priests on the diocesan College of Consultors will appoint a diocesan administrator to oversee the diocese until a new bishop is named.

Although there is no timetable for appointing bishops, Gilles hopes a new bishop will be named within nine months.

Listecki, a bus driver’s son who grew up in a Polish-Hispanic neighborhood on the southeast side of Chicago, succeeded former La Crosse Bishop Raymond L. Burke, a diocesan native who since January 2004 has served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Listecki’s appointment in 2005 happened 14 months after Archbishop Burke left for St. Louis. Burke’s appointment took 18 months after Bishop John Paul submitted his request for retirement to the Vatican.

Burke is a member of the Congregation of Bishops that will make the recommendations of who will fill the La Crosse post.

Gilles anticipates there will be a Mass of Farewell at St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral before Listecki leaves for Milwaukee.

“When I was installed as Bishop of La Crosse, I ended my homily by stating: ‘Now you belong to me, I belong to you, but we belong to Christ,’” Listecki said in the statement he issued Saturday.

“That will never change.”