Henry Joseph Soenneker was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 bishop.

Henry Soenneker was born in Melrose

Melrose, Minnesota

Melrose is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,598 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, to Henry and Mary (née Wessel) Soenneker. He studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum

Pontifical College Josephinum

The Pontifical College Josephinum is a four-year, Roman Catholic liberal arts college and graduate school of theology founded by Monsignor Joseph Jessing in 1888 and located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The seminary prepares its students to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Students come...

 in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1930. He was ordained

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

 to the priesthood

Priesthood (Catholic Church)

The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 on May 26, 1934. He was then a curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 at St. Anthony Church in St. Cloud

St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...

 until 1940, and also served as a high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 teacher and chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 at a V.A. hospital

Veterans Health Administration

The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics,...

. He was chaplain to the Sisters of St. Francis

Sisters of St. Francis

Sisters of St. Francis can refer to:* Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., now named Franciscan Alliance, Inc.* Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi* Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George* Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis...

 at Little Falls

Little Falls, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,719 people , 3,197 households, and 1,899 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,232.5 people per square mile . There were 3,358 housing units at an average density of 536.2 per square mile...

 from 1940 to 1948, and earned a Licentiate of Canon Law

Licentiate of Canon Law

Licentiate of Canon Law is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law...

 from the Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in 1950. He later became spiritual director

Spiritual direction

Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their own personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of his or her encounters of the divine, or how he or she is experiencing...

 of St. John's Seminary in Collegeville.

On March 10, 1961, Soenneker was appointed the second Bishop of Owensboro

Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro is a Roman Catholic diocese in Kentucky. It was founded on December 9, 1937. It is currently a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Louisville...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, by Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

. He received his episcopal

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 on the following April 26 from Bishop Peter William Bartholome

Peter William Bartholome

Peter William Bartholome was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Saint Cloud from 1953 to 1968.-Biography:...

, with Bishops Francis Joseph Schenk

Francis Joseph Schenk

Francis Joseph Schenk was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Crookston and Bishop of Duluth .-Biography:...

 and Joseph Maximilian Mueller

Joseph Maximilian Mueller

Joseph Maximilian Mueller was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Sioux City from 1948 to 1970.-Biography:...

 serving as co-consecrators

Consecrator

Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...

. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

between 1962 and 1965. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, he resigned as bishop on June 30, 1982. He later died at age 80.