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Rev. James Linkenheld (click for Bio)
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Parochial Vicarjlinkenheldrockforddiocese.orgFr. James Linkenheld is the oldest of three children. He grew up in Loves Park, where he was a member of St. Bridget Parish and attended the parochial elementary school through fifth grade. The family then moved to Belvidere, where he finished in the public school system. In 2011, he began studies at the University of Illinois in Champaign. It was during his sophomore year there that he underwent a conversion experience and began discerning his vocation. Midway through his junior year, he heard the Lord call him to become a priest.
After being accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Rockford, he attended St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE for three years. The diocese then assigned him to continue his formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He was ordained a deacon on October 1, 2020 at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome and he was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford on June 5, 2021. After ordination, the diocese assigned him to continue studies for a license in canon law. During continuing studies, Fr. Linkenheld served at the parishes of St. Mary (Byron) and St. Patrick (St. Charles) while home for summers. He finished the license in canon law in June 2023 and is back in the diocese with us (after spending a summer here as a seminarian in 2019). In addition to duties as the parochial vicar, he is also assigned part-time to the diocesan tribunal, in Rockford.
