Longtime Pastor, Father Vince Rosonke, Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Ordination
May 21, 2025
When Father Vince Rosonke was 18 years old, he thought he’d get married someday.
But when he was in high school, a priest from his home parish of St. Joseph in New Hampton, Iowa, took him to see Loras College in Dubuque.
He decided to go there.
“Pretty soon, I was in the seminary building,” he said. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Father Rosonke is celebrating his 50th anniversary of his ordination to priesthood on May 24.
Looking back, the most rewarding times were when he could be with people during sacramental moments: a hospital room, a nursing home, a family gathering, or with loved ones after a death. He also enjoyed working with young people and those who decided to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.
“I’m a cheerful person when it comes to ministry,” he said. “I like the engaging part of that.”
After Loras College, he studied at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, and was ordained a priest in his hometown by Bishop Maurice Dingman in the summer of 1975.
Service as Pastor
He went to Creston, where Immaculate Conception and St. Malachy Parishes were joined and became Holy Spirit Parish.
Then he went to St. Mary in Portsmouth in Shelby County, an area that produced many priests and religious women for the Diocese and beyond.
Father Rosonke moved to Christ the King Parish in Des Moines for five years.
After a sabbatical, he moved to Ss. John and Paul Parish in Altoona, where his goal was to build a new church by the year 2000.
He served one year at Sacred Heart in West Des Moines before going to St. Boniface Parish in Waukee. At the time, the parish was in a small church and Father Robert Shoemann was working to build a transitional, larger church.
Father Rosonke picked up where Father Shoemann left off, and built a new church, office space, and faith formation wing. He served 17 years, retiring from the parish in 2019.
He enjoyed working with parish staff on themes for the Advent and Lenten seasons and preparing for weekends.
Service as Missionary
While ministering in Waukee, Father Rosonke was approached by a pastor at Heartland Presbyterian Church, who asked if he might be interested in a mission to El Salvador.
Father Rosonke invited him to speak at the weekend Masses and provide some literature.
He told the pastor: “I’ll see if people want to get together for a committee. If they do, we will. If people don’t, we won’t. That’s all I can guarantee you.”
Forty people appeared for the first informational meeting, and four months later, 14 parishioners went to El Salvador in 2004. Last year was the parish’s 20th anniversary of its relationship with the people of the Central American country.
Father Rosonke himself has been there 35 times, though he confesses he knows little Spanish. A translator helps him when he’s visiting a little town and church. He’s made lifelong friendships and continues to keep in touch when he returns home to Iowa.
Service in Retirement
In retirement, Father Rosonke has helped at a few parishes. He has time to see movies, he paints, creates folk art, and volunteers at Joppa, an organization that helps the homeless.
Fathers Tim Fitzgerald and Vince Rosonke will have a joint celebration marking their 50th anniversary of ordination. It will be Aug. 3 at St. Boniface in Waukee beginning with an open house at 12:30 p.m. and concluding with a 2 p.m. Mass. All are invited.