Heinrichs was born at Gladbeck, Germany, joined the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor in 1923, and was ordained a priest in 1929. He received a doctorate in theology at Innsbruck and another in sinology at Berlin before his departure for China in 1931. For more than 20 years he taught dogmatics in China and then served in the same capacity in Japan beginning in 1954 at St. Anthony Seminary, Tokyo. He wrote three volumes on Catholic dogmatics and one on fundamental theology (all in Latin), in dialogue with the main religions of Asia. These works were translated into Japanese in 1984 and following years. He also published three books on Christian theology and the Asian way of thinking about dialogue. The key themes of his theology are Christian revelation and religious experience.