NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Rev. Charles Edward Van Winkle, C.S.C., 96, died at Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Indiana, on October 26, 2025, after a short illness.
Rev. Charles E. Van Winkle, C.S.C., was born in Bloomington, Indiana, on September 28, 1929, to Joseph and Amelia (Hermann) Van Winkle and is the youngest of four children.
Fr. Van Winkle grew up in Evansville, Indiana, where he attended elementary school at St. Benedict and, in 1947, graduated from Reitz Memorial High School, which was conducted by the Holy Cross Brothers. He entered Holy Cross as a brother candidate in 1950, made First Vows on August 16, 1951, and made Final Vows on August 16, 1954. In 1978, he transferred from the Midwest Province of Holy Cross Brothers to the Southern Province of Holy Cross and was Ordained a Holy Cross priest on November 23, 1978, at St. Ignatius Church in Austin, Texas. During his life, he pursued college/university studies at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, Indiana; Evansville University, Indiana; St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, where he earned a
Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1954; Catholic University in Washington, D.C.; St. John’s College in Cleveland, Ohio; Boston University, Mass.; Pope John XXIII Seminary in Weston,
Massachusetts; and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Before being ordained a priest, Fr. Van Winkle served the Midwest Province of Holy Cross Brothers in many capacities at St. Edward’s High School (1952, Austin, Texas), Sacred Heart Juniorate (1953, Wisconsin), Cathedral High School (1954, Indianapolis, Indiana), St. Joseph’s Church (1955, East Pakistan), St. Edward’s High School (1956-1974, Cleveland, Ohio) and the Teen Challenge Drug Abuse Center (1967-1974, Cleveland, Ohio). After Ordination in 1978, Fr. Van Winkle served his pastoral apprenticeship at St. Ignatius Church in Austin, Texas, for one year before working in vocation ministries for the Southern Province, giving retreats mainly to college and university students throughout the southern states until 1986. From 1986-1988, he served as associate pastor at San José Catholic Church in Austin, Texas. Starting in 1989, he worked in parish missions and gave retreats for the Southern Province all over the United States, as well as one in 2005, to U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany before they were sent to serve in Iraq. From 2010-2018, he served as Chaplain for St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, before residing at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Indiana, in 2018.
Preceding Fr. Van Winkle in death are his parents, brothers Robert and Joseph F. Van Winkle, and sister Mary Louise Biggs.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Ind. You may also join via livestream at https://funerals.holycrossusa.org.
Burial will be in the community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorial contributions in support of the mission and ministries of the Congregation of Holy Cross can be made to: United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Office of Advancement, P.O. Box 765, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0765 or online at https://donate.holycrossusa.org
