The Rt. Rev. Edwin Leidel Jr. Photo: Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan

[Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan] The Rt. Rev. Edwin Leidel Jr., first bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, died on June 5 of cancer at age 83.

Consecrated to serve the new diocese in 1996, Leidel served 10 years as bishop diocesan. His ministry took him across the world, serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve as officer and chaplain, as a priest in Indiana, Australia and Minnesota, and to his beloved Great Lakes states, Michigan and Wisconsin.

“Ed was a pioneer, leading us into big questions of identity, structure, and call – questions we’re still mining today across The Episcopal Church,” said the Rt. Rev. Prince G. Singh, bishop provisional of the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan. “That he entered into God’s nearer presence on the feast of Pentecost is not lost on us.”

Read Leidel’s full obituary here.

Leidel’s funeral will be held at Christ Episcopal Church in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, on June 18 at 11 a.m. Central. Click here to access the livestream.