Background
Christian Winkelmann was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, to John and Anna (née Becker) Winkelmann.
Christian Winkelmann was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, to John and Anna (née Becker) Winkelmann.
He attended Saint Francis Solanus College in Quincy, Illinois, before returning to Missouri and studying at Kenrick Seminary.
He served as Bishop of Wichita from 1940 to 1946. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1907. He then served as curate at Saint Peter"s Church in Saint Charles until 1922, when he became pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Rich Fountain.
He was pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Church in Saint Louis from 1929 to 1939.
On September 13, 1933, Winkelmann was appointed the first Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Louis and Titular Bishop of Sita by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following November 30 from Archbishop John Jay Glennon, with Bishops Thomas Francis Lillis and Francis Johannes serving as co-consecrators. Following the death of Bishop Augustus John Schwertner, Winkelmann was named the third Bishop of Wichita, Kansas, by Pope Pius XII on December 27, 1939.
He was later installed at Wichita on March 5, 1940. He remained as bishop for the next six years, until his death at age 63.