Frederick Eis was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-born prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette

Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette is a suffragan diocese of the Roman rite, encompassing all of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Detroit. It encompasses an area of 16,281 square miles .Its cathedral is St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette,...

 from 1899 to 1922.

Biography

Frederick Eis was born in Arbach

Arbach

Arbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...

, the youngest of four children of William and Catherine (née Dietrich) Eis. In 1855, he and his family immigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where they lived at Calvary

Calvary, Wisconsin

Calvary, Wisconsin is an unincorporated community located in the town of Marshfield, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The community was originally know locally as Calvary Station since the community was built around the railroad depot for Mount Calvary...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, before moving to Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. They eventually settled in Rockland, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, where Frederick was taught Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 by a missionary priest, Father Martin Fox. In 1861, Eis began his studies for the priesthood

Priesthood (Catholic Church)

The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. His studies were interrupted by the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, which prompted Bishop Frederic Baraga

Frederic Baraga

Frederic Baraga, Servant of God was a Slovene American Roman Catholic missionary, bishop, and grammarian.-Early life:Frederic Baraga was born as Friderik Irenej Baraga in the manor house at Mala Vas no...

 to send him to the College of Joliette in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to complete his formation. During his final years at Joliette, he taught English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, and commerce.

Eis was ordained

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

 a priest by Bishop Ignatius Mrak

Ignatius Mrak

Ignatius Mrak was the second Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, in Michigan, United States....

 on October 30, 1870. His first assignment was as rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of St. Peter Cathedral

St. Peter Cathedral, Marquette

St. Peter Cathedral is a large Roman Catholic cathedral located on Baraga Avenue in Marquette, Michigan. As the mother church of the Diocese of Marquette, it is one of the most notable marks of Catholic presence in the Upper Peninsula...

 in Marquette

Marquette, Michigan

Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...

, where he remained for three years. He became pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 of Sacred Heart Church in Calumet

Calumet, Michigan

Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National...

 in 1873, and afterwards served as pastor of St. Anne Church in Hancock

Hancock, Michigan

Hancock is a city in Houghton County; the northernmost in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, or, depending on terminology, Copper Island. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 census...

 from 1874 to 1880. He then served at St. Paul Church in Negaunee

Negaunee, Michigan

Negaunee is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,576 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township. The city is home to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum...

 until 1890, when began visiting California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 during the summers due to poor health. He served as pastor of St. Sebastian Church in Bessemer

Bessemer, Michigan

Bessemer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,914. It is the county seat of Gogebic County....

 (1894, 1895) and of Guardian Angels Church in Crystal Falls

Crystal Falls, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,791 people, 795 households, and 470 families residing in the city. The population density was 530.6 per square mile . There were 913 housing units at an average density of 270.5 per square mile...

 (1895-99).

On June 7, 1899, Eis was appointed the fourth Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette

Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette is a suffragan diocese of the Roman rite, encompassing all of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Detroit. It encompasses an area of 16,281 square miles .Its cathedral is St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette,...

 by Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

. He received his episcopal

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 on the following August 20 from Archbishop Frederick Katzer

Frederick Katzer

Frederick Xavier Katzer was a Roman Catholic archbishop. Katzer was the third Bishop of Diocese of Green Bay and the third Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin....

, with Bishops James Schwebach

James Schwebach

James Schwebach was a Luxembourgian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of La Crosse from 1892 until his death in 1921.-Biography:...

 and Sebastian Messmer serving as co-consecrators

Consecrator

Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...

, at St. Peter Cathedral. During his 23-year tenure, he led the diocese through the nationalist controversies within the American Catholic community, and founded several charitable institutions and hospitals. He resigned as Bishop on July 8, 1922; he was named Titular Bishop

Titular bishop

A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...

 of Bita and an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....

 by Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...

on the same date.

Eis died at age 83, and is buried in the bishops' crypt at St. Peter Cathedral.