Grandson of Franz Xavier Boeding (1796 - 1878)
Arnold Aloysius Boeding was born in Neuenkirchen, Westphalia, Germany on April 29, 1868. He was the sixth child in a family of four sons and five daughters born to Conrad Boeding (1824 - 1893) and Anna Marie Heinrichfreise Boeding (1830 - 1884). Because of the Kulturkampf, the oldest son, Francis Xavier had left Germany to complete his studies for the priesthood at the Grand Laval Seminary, Montreal, Canada. He was ordained there for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, on December 22, 1877. Another son, Edward Otto, escaped from the military draft by sailing to America in 1878. He was accompanied by his older sister Anna.
Seven years later, Edward Otto, then a naturalized citizen, returned to Germany to bring the remaining family members to America. The mother and one sister, Elizabeth (Settchen 1866 - 1882), had died. The father, three sisters and two brothers emigrated to America in 1885. Seventeen year old Arnold was one of them. The family settled in the St. Lucas, Iowa area.
Arnold's early education was acquired in his parental home and later in the state gymnasium at Rietberg, near Neuenkirchen. Already as a child, Arnold had expressed his desire to become a priest. Now in America, under the guidance of his ordained brother he contacted the Most Reverend John Hennessy, Archbishop of Dubuque, who assigned him to seminary training at St. Francis Solanus College in Quincy, Illinois, a preparatory seminary staffed by German Franciscan Fathers from Teutopolis, Illinois. A two-year course (1885-1887) qualified Arnold for entrance into the Canisianum Seminary in Innsbruck, Austria. Five years later, on March 25, 1892, Arnold Boeding was ordained a priest in Innsbruck, by Prince-Bishop Aichner, for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa.
Immediately upon his return to America, Archbishop John Hennessy appointed the newly ordained priest assistant to the Reverend Clement Johannes at St. Mary's Church in Dubuque, where he served for five years.
The Reverend Arnold Boeding was less than thirty years old when Archbishop John J. Keane appointed him pastor of St. Boniface Church in Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa - a parish then in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Three years later, in 1901, the Reverend Arnold Boeding was named pastor of Holy Ghost Church, In Dubuque, founded seven years earlier as a combined church, school and sister's convent. During his four years pastorate (1901-1905) e made notable gains in reducing the debt, increasing parish membership and by erecting a three story convent for the sisters of St. Francis who conducted the school.
In October 1905, Archbishop John J. Keane appointed Reverend Arnold Boeding pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Dubuque - a capacity in which he served for thirty-seven years.
To relieve the crowded conditions in church and school, the pastor appealed to the Archbishop in 1910 for the establishment of a new parish in North Dubuque. He agreed to release his own capable assistant priest, the Reverend Joseph Dupont, to serve as pastor of the new parish, known as Holy Trinity Church. By November of 1910, Father Boeding performed the ceremonies of dedication and celebrated the first Mass in the new church.
From 1913-1915, the mission church of North Buena Vista, Iowa, was entrusted to Sacred Heart parish and placed under the ministry of Father Boeding and his assistant priests.
The erection of a new school for 1000 students and the building of a convent for 35 Sisters were among the many projects carried out during Father Boeding's pastorate.
Because of his proficiency in the German language he was often called on to give out-of-parish, even out-of-state, addresses. As early as 1909 he was invited to deliver a German sermon at the solemn dedication of the Sacred Heart Church in Meyer, Iowa.
Recognizing the need for a girls' high school, Father Boeding with two other pastors of the city, made continuous and finally successful efforts. The opening of the Immaculate Conception Academy for girls on 17th and Iowa, in 1907, was the result of the priests' influence and initiative. The Academy was later transferred to Davis Avenue.
The 50th anniversary of Sacred Heart Church was observed in 1930 and with it the 25th anniversary of Father Boeding's ordination to the priesthood.
Pope Pius XII honored the Reverend Arnold Boeding by bestowing on him the title of Domestic Prelate on May 28, 1932, during the episcopate of the Most Reverend Francis J. Beckman.
During the years 1931-1942 Monsignor Boeding served as diocesan consultor, chairman of the diocesan building committee and Vicar-General for Religious.
On April 12, 1942, Monsignor Boeding celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood.
An incapacitating illness forced him to retire on August 30, 1943. He was admitted to St. Anthony's Home in Dubuque, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy. He died on August 16, 1944, at the age of 76.
The Most Reverend Francis J. Beckman officiated at the solemn Mass of Requiem at Sacred Heart Church. The Reverend Augustine Bomholt of Holy Cross, Iowa delivered the sermon. Monsignor Boeding's body rests in the Priest's Section of Mount Calvary Cemetery, Dubuque, Iowa.
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