Pope Francis has tapped Bishop Chad Zielinski to move from the Diocese of Fairbanks to the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, bringing Zielinski back to Midwest, where he grew up.

“I am most grateful to our Holy Father for entrusting me to serve as the shepherd of the Diocese of New Ulm,” Zielinski said in a release. “As I leave the vast expanse of Northern Alaska, I am fully aware of the countless blessings I received from 46 parishes.”

He credited the parishioners in Alaska for “patiently help(ing) form me to be the shepherd I am today.”

He said the Native Alaskan faithful “opened my mind and heart to the cultural beauty and richness of their traditional way of life,” adding that he brings that same open heart and mind to New Ulm.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre announced the appointment on Tuesday. The release said Zielinski is replacing Bishop John M. LeVoir, who headed the diocese from 2008 until his recent retirement.

Zielinski grew up in Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and while serving his hitch, he felt a calling to the priesthood. After he was discharged, he studied at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon. A New Ulm Diocese release says he then became a seminarian in the Diocese of Gaylord, earning his Master's in Divinity from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Bishop Patrick R. Cooney ordained Zielinski at St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord on June 8, 1996.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Zielinski felt the need to serve those in uniform, so he entered into the service of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. In that capacity, he was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota; in Suffolk, England; Randolph Air Force Base in Schertz, Texas; the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was then appointed to serve as Bishop of Fairbanks.

“I guess the Church has prepared me for the military and the military has prepared me for the Church,” Zielinski once wrote. “We receive orders, and we go, whether coming from a general or the Pope.”