Early life Gerald Vincke was born on July 9, 1964, in
Saginaw, Michigan, one of 10 children of Henry and Fidelis Vincke. He attended New Lothrop High School in
New Lothrop, Michigan. After graduating from high school, Vincke enrolled at
Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. He received an associate degree in journalism in 1985 and a bachelor's degree of science in
public relations and marketing in 1986. After graduating from Ferris State, Vincke decided to become a priest. In late 1986, he started studying philosophy at
Thomas More College in
Crestview, Kentucky and theology at the nearby
Athenaeum of Ohio Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. Vincke then returned to Michigan to attend
Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He graduated from Sacred Heart with a
Master of Divinity degree in 1999. After his 1999 ordination, the diocese assigned Vincke as
parochial vicar at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in
Ann Arbor, Michigan. He left St. Thomas in 2001 to attend
Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, to study spirituality.In September 2018, the
Archdiocese of Washington announced that former Cardinal
Theodore McCarrick would reside at
St. Fidelis Parish in Victoria, Kansas. Vincke explained his decision to permit the arrangement by a need to have mercy while pursuing justice. In his statement, he referred to
Maria Goretti, a sainted girl who forgave her killer on her deathbed. In January 2020, it was announced that McCarrick, by then
laicized, had moved to an undisclosed location. In February 2021, Vincke assumed the additional responsibility of being apostolic administrator of the
Diocese of Dodge City. Its bishop,
John Brungardt, was being investigated by the Vatican and the
Kansas Bureau of Investigation for allegations of child sexual abuse. On March 23, 2022, Bishop Brundgardt was cleared of the allegations and reassumed leadership of the Diocese of Dodge City. ==See also==