Thomas Robert Zinkula (born April 19, 1957) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the United States. Zinkula was a priest in the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counti ...

in Iowa until he was named the ninth bishop of Davenport in Iowa in 2017.

Biography

Early life and education

Thomas Zinkula was born on April 19, 1957 in

Mount Vernon, Iowa Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The population was 4,527 at the time of the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Mount Vernon ...

to Robert and Mary (Volz) Zinkula. He grew up on a farm with eight siblings. In 1975, Zinkula graduated as the valedictorian from Mount Vernon High School. He received a bachelor degree in mathematics, economics and business from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in Mount Vernon. Zinkula was later inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Cornell as a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for football. After college, Zinkula worked for one year as an

actuary An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...

for Life Investors in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

. Zinkula then entered the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or U ...

. earning a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1983. He practiced law for three years with the Simmons, Perrine, Albright & Ellwood law firm in Cedar Rapids. Zinkula studied for the priesthood at Theological College at the

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

, receiving a Master in Theology degree in 1990. He earned a

Licentiate in Canon Law Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. Religion *Licentiate of Canon Law, Roman Catholic Church * L ...

from

Saint Paul University Saint Paul University (french: Université Saint-Paul) is a bilingual Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it ...

in 1998. Remarking on his decision to enter the priesthood, Zinkula stated:

"For me, that was the path. It was important for me to find my way to the priesthood eventually. I would not have been ready to be a priest right out of college. I needed to grow and develop in different ways. I look back and see my life was preparing me to be a priest and the priesthood was preparing me to be a better bishop. All of those things helped me to serve the Church better."

Priesthood

Zinkula was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Archbishop

Daniel Kucera Daniel William Kucera, OSB (Czech pronunciation uˈtsera May 7, 1923 – May 30, 2017) was a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as an Auxiliary Bishop in Joliet (1977–1980), the Bishop of Salina (1980–1983), and as the Archbish ...

on May 26, 1990 at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque. He served as the assistant pastor of St. Columbkille's Parish in Dubuque from 1990 to 1993 and as the assistant pastor at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Dubuque from 1993 to 1996. After studying canon law, Zinkula became the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in

Rickardsville, Iowa Rickardsville is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. The population was 202 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 191 in 2000. Geography Rickardsville is located at (42.582756, -90.880499). According to the United States Census Bu ...

and sacramental priest for St. Francis Parish in

Balltown, Iowa Balltown is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 79 at the 2020 census, up from 73 in 2000. Balltown is home to Breitbach's Country Dining, Iowa's oldes ...

and Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Sherill, Iowa (1998 to 2002). Zinkula served as a judge at the Archdiocesan Tribunal from 1998 to 2000 and as

judicial vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...

from 2000 to 2010. He was named pastor of

Holy Ghost Parish Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ...

in Dubuque, and served from 2005 to 2007. Holy Ghost was clustered with

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

and Holy Trinity parishes to form the Holy Spirit Pastorate, which he served as pastor from 2007 to 2011. Zinkula served as the

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

for the

region of the archdiocese from 2012 to 2014, and as the rector of St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque from 2014 to 2017. Zinkula was named a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

in 2012.

Bishop of Davenport

On April 19, 2017

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named Zinkula as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Davenport. When initially notified of his appointment by text message, Zinkula assumed it a prank from one of the seminarians. Zinkula was ordained a bishop at St. John Vianney Church in

Bettendorf, Iowa Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport– Moline– Rock Island, IA- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popu ...

by Archbishop Michael Jackels of Dubuque, with Bishop Martin Amos and Archbishop

Jerome Hanus Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B. (born May 26, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, presiding as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1995 until 2013. A member of the Order of Saint Benedict, Hanus served as ...

as co-consecrators. On June 3, 2019, Zinkula indicated that the diocese would comply with a request from the

Iowa Attorney General The Attorney General of Iowa is the chief legal officer of the State of Iowa, United States. The office was created February 9, 1853. The Office of the Attorney General is housed in the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines; the attorney gen ...

for sexual abuses records on clerics in the diocese. On August 16, 2018, Zinkula made the following statement about

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by priests:

“The abuse of children and vulnerable adults isn’t an issue that will simply go away. We must all be constantly vigilant in order to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

References

Episcopal succession