[1] After graduating from Don Bosco Preparatory High School at Ramsey, New Jersey, in 1924, he attended SS.

[1] In 1935, he returned to Rome to study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Scripture.

[2] He received his episcopal consecration on May 23, 1950, from Cardinal Edward Mooney, with Bishops Stephen Woznicki and Allen Babcock serving as co-consecrators.

Zaleski was named coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Lansing on October 7, 1964 by Pope Paul VI.

[2][3][4][5] He also served as chairman of the Committee on Doctrine in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; in this capacity, he played a prominent role in the censuring of liberal theologian Charles Curran.