He travelled to St. Louis, Missouri, to study theology at Kenrick Seminary, where he also taught languages.
[1]After his ordination, Gerken was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Abilene, Texas.
Pius XI named Gerken as the seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe on June 2, 1933.
In December 1937, Gerken called on Catholics in the archdiocese to not attend a Christmas ball sponsored by the Santa Fe Maternal Health Center, terming the organization a "birth control clinic.
"[5] After suffering a stroke that left his right side paralyzed, Rudolph Gerken died on March 2, 1943, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico.