SALINA – Pope Francis announced today that Reverend Monsignor Gerald (“Jerry”) L. Vincke has been appointed as the 12th bishop of the Salina Diocese in Kansas. Currently, Monsignor Vincke serves as a priest for the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. He is pastor of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the appointment public this morning.
Pope Francis Names Rev. Msgr. Gerald L. Vincke as Bishop of Salina
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Monsignor Vincke’s placement comes eight months after Bishop Edward Joseph Weisenburger was transferred to the Diocese of Tuscon, Arizona. Bishop Weisenburger replaced Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tuscon, who formerly served as the vice president and secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Read more: Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger Appointed Bishop-Elect of Diocese of Tucson
The 12th Bishop of Salina was born in 1964 in Michigan. He is the ninth of ten children. He pursued a degree in journalism at Ferris State College in Big Rapids, Michigan. He also holds a degree in public relations and advertising. After discerning a call to religious life, he studied philosophy at Thomas More College in Kentucky and received formation at Athenaeum Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Reverend Monsignor Vincke celebrated 19 years of the priesthood. He was ordained on June 12, 1999 in the Diocese of Lansing.
In addition to his degrees, Monsignor Vincke also has attended courses on Exorcisms at the Congregation for the Clergy in 2012. He also studied spirituality at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
Before being named the Bishop of the Diocese of Salina, Monsignor Vincke has served as a parochial vicar, a retreat house director, the director of seminarians, the vocations director for the Diocese of Lansing, and the chairman for the formation department for priests, deacons, laity, and seminarians in the Diocese of Lansing.
From 2010 – 2015, Monsignor Vincke served as the spiritual director for the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
In 2012, he was named Chaplain to his Holiness by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Pope Francis named him a Missionary of Mercy in 2016.
The Salina Diocese announced the appointment, which will be further discussed in a press conference at 2:00 pm central time today.
