HERE AT THE HEART
HERE AT THE HEART
A joyful Bishop Vincke at his
installation Mass on August 22
at Sacred Heart Cathedral in
Salina, Kansas.
Pope Francis Appoints Sacred
Heart Alumnus Bishop
Msgr. Gerald Vincke Becomes Thirty-third
Graduate to Become a Bishop
Mary Henige • Photos by Heartland Photography / Karen Bonar
B
ecoming a bishop, a successor to the Apostles, is one of the
highest honors bestowed on a priest who receives the fullness
of Holy Orders. The Sacred Heart Major Seminary community is
pleased to congratulate the Most Reverend Gerald Vincke, a Sacred
Heart graduate, whom Pope Francis appointed the twelfth bishop of
the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, on June 13. Bishop Vincke earned his
Master of Divinity degree from Sacred Heart in April 1999 just prior
to his June ordination for the Diocese of Lansing.
“Bishop Vincke is an exceptional priest
who radiates joy, a love for the Lord, and
a deep desire to serve,” said Msgr. Todd
J. Lajiness, rector and president of Sacred
Heart. “Sacred Heart Major Seminary is
proud that he is among our alumni and
34
we assure him of our prayerful support as
he accepts this new responsibility entrust-
ed to him by Pope Francis.”
Bishop Vincke becomes the thirty-third
alumnus of Sacred Heart to be appointed
bishop, and the twenty-first since Sacred
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2018
Heart’s 1988 re-founding as a major semi-
nary under His Eminence, Edmund Car-
dinal Szoka.
Bishop Vincke is a Michigan native and
was born in Saginaw, on July 9, 1964, the
ninth of ten children. He attended Ferris
State University, in Big Rapids, Michigan,
and received a bachelor of arts degree in
public relations and marketing. He stud-
ied philosophy at St. Thomas More Col-
lege in Crestview, Kentucky; and theology
at Athaneaum Seminary in Cincinnati,
Ohio, before coming to Sacred Heart.
Like many members of the Sacred Heart
alumni community, Bishop Vincke has a
heart for the New Evangelization. He was
a faculty member and spiritual director at
the Pontifical North American College, in
Rome, for five years, beginning in 2010.
While there, he obtained a Licentiate in
Sacred Theology (STL) in the New Evan-
gelization, with a focus on Spiritual The-
ology. His thesis was titled: “Following
the Path of St. John Vianney for the New
Evangelization with Evangelii Gaudium as a
Guide.” Pope Benedict XVI named him a
Monsignor in 2012.
Throughout his ministry in the Diocese
of Lansing, the Bishop held a number of
positions including parochial vicar of St.
Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, director of Bethany House, a
youth retreat center, and director of semi-
narians and vocations. After completing
his STL in 2015, he was appointed to his
current role as pastor of Holy Family par-
ish. He serves on the Lansing Diocese’s
Presbyterial Council, the Priest Assign-
ment Committee, and the College of
Consultors.
Please pray for Bishop Vincke as he
brings the Good News of Jesus Christ to
the faithful in Salina, Kansas.
Mary Henige is the director of strategic com-
munications for the Archdiocese of Detroit and
Sacred Heart, and is pursuing a Master of Arts
in Theology at Sacred Heart.