Schinner was educated at St. Francis Seminary in Wisconsin, and was ordained to the priesthood on March 7, 1886, by Archbishop Michael Heiss of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. He served for one year as pastor of St. Hubertus parish at Hubertus, Wisconsin. From 1887 to 1893 he was a member of the faculty of St. Francis Seminary. From 1893 to 1905, he served as chancellor and vicar general of the archdiocese of Milwaukee, appointed by Archbishop Frederick Katzer.
The Diocese of Superior was established on May 3, 1905, formed from portions of the Diocese of Green Bay and the Diocese of La Crosse. On May 13, 1905, Pope Pius X appointed Schinner the first Bishop of the newly created diocese. He was ordained a bishop on July 25, 1905. Traveling by train with an entourage of over 60 priests from Milwaukee, he arrived at Ashland, Wisconsin, traveled to the Apostle Islands on a short boat tour, and then continued on to Superior. There were 39 diocesan priests, 17 religious order priests serving 38,861 Catholics in 43 parishes with resident pastors, and 50 missions and 33 stations. For Catholic schools, there was 1 high school, 16 elementary and 2 boarding schools with a total enrollment of 9,016 students. Schinner immediately saw the need for an additional 10 priests. As a missionary bishop, he learned first hand the difficulties of travel into remote rural counties. He took an interest in evangelizing among the nearly 4,000 Catholic Native Americans. At the time Bishop Schinner resigned on February 7, 1913, there were 62 priests serving the diocese.
On March 18, 1914, Schinner was appointed first Bishop of the new Diocese of Spokane, Washington. He was installed on April 18, 1914. After 11 years he resigned on December 17, 1925.
Later years
After his retirement on December 17, 1925, Schinner was a missionary in Bolivia from 1925 to 1928. After he returned, he spent the last five and one-half years of his life serving as chaplain for the Sisters of the Divine Savior in Milwaukee. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priesthood on March 7, 1936. He later died of pneumonia at St. Mary's Hospital and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee.
