By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Father Harry Ringenberger, born April 16, 1943, ordained May 24, 1969, died May 23, 2016.
FORT LAUDERDALE | Father Harry Ringenberger, a priest for 46 years and founding pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Pembroke Pines, has died at the age of 73.
Father Ringenberger also served 24 years as parochial vicar at St. Pius X in Fort Lauderdale. He died May 23 after a brief illness, surrounded by family and friends.
A viewing will take place Thursday, May 26, starting at 4 p.m. at St. Pius, with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino will celebrate the funeral Mass Friday, May 27, at 10 a.m. at the church, which is located at 2511 N. Ocean Blvd. (A1A), Fort Lauderdale.
Born April 16, 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the second oldest of four siblings, Father Ringenberger later moved to South Florida with his family. They joined Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Fort Lauderdale, and he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
He immediately entered St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, completing his studies for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. He was ordained May 24, 1969, one of 11 men ordained that year for the Archdiocese of Miami.
He served as parochial vicar at St. Clement, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Mary Cathedral, Miami, before being named to the faculty of Archbishop Curley (now Curley-Notre Dame) High School in Miami, where he served from 1972 to 1976.
He was then named supervising principal of Msgr. Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, and parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lakes in Miami Lakes. In 1978, he was named parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena, Miami.
From 1979 to 1983, he served as parochial vicar at St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar. In June 1983, he was named founding pastor of St. Maximilian, where he served until September 1989.
Since July 1990, and until he retired in 2014, he served as parochial vicar at St. Pius X.
Father Ringenberger's cremated remains will be interred at a later date at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale.
