Christian Herman Winkelmann (September 12, 1883 – November 19, 1946) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as Bishop of Wichita from 1940 to 1946. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 1933 to 1940.

Biography

Early life

Christian Winkelmann was born on September 12, 1883, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, to John and Anna (née Becker) Winkelmann. He attended

St. Francis Solanus College Quincy University (QU) is a private Franciscan college in Quincy, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1860, it has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students across five constituent schools. History 1860s-1890s ...

in Quincy, Illinois, then returned to Missouri to enter Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis. Winkelmann was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on June 11, 1907. He then served as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St. Peter's Parish in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...

, until 1922, when he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Sacred Heart Parish in Rich Fountain, Missouri. Winkelmann was pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in St. Louis from 1929 to 1939.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis

On September 13, 1933, Winkelmann was appointed the first

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and

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 Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Sita'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on November 30, 1933, from Archbishop John J. Glennon, with Bishops Thomas Lillis and Francis Johannes serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

Bishop of Wichita

Following the death of Bishop Augustus Schwertner, Winkelmann was named the third bishop of the Diocese of Wichita by Pius XII on December 27, 1939. He was installed at Wichita on March 5, 1940. Christian Winkelmann died in Wichita on November 19, 1946, at age 63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkelmann, Christian Herman 1883 births 1946 deaths Quincy University alumni American people of German descent Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Clergy from St. Louis Roman Catholic bishops of Wichita 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Religious leaders from Missouri