 He was named a Papal Chamberlain (1921), and a Domestic Prelate and the vicar general of Helena in 1939.On December 6, 1941, Willging was appointed the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado, by Pope Pius XII.He received his episcopal consecration on February 24, 1942 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Archbishop Henry Rohlman and Bishop Joseph Michael Gilmore serving as co-consecrators.