Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Archdiocese of Dubuque is the Catholic diocese for the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa. It includes all the Iowa counties north of Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton counties. It also includes the counties east of Kossuth, Humboldt, Webster and Boone counties. The Archdiocese has an area of about 17,400 square miles.
The headquarters of the Archdiocese of Dubuque is in the city of Dubuque, Iowa. Saint Raphael's in Dubuque is the Cathedral parish for the Archdiocese. The current Archbishop of Dubuque is Jerome Hanus.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque is unique in several ways. It is the only US Archdiocese outside a major metropolitian area. Also, the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier is located in the Archdiocese. Located in Dyersville, Iowa - about 25 miles west of Dubuque - it is the only Basilica located in a small town.
There are 199 parishes in the Archdiocese. There are three Catholic colleges in the Archdiocese - Clarke and Loras Colleges in Dubuque, and Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids.
History
During the years prior to the founding of the Dubuque Diocese, the area was under the jurisdiction of a number of Bishops. Many of these were purely academic as no Catholic presence yet existed in the area. Most notable among these was the St. Louis Diocese under Bishop Rosati. During the early 1830's it was under his jurisdiction that the early missionaries arrived in what would become the state of Iowa.
In the 1830s the church studied how to address the expansion of the United States into the western frontiers. Those conducting the study recommended to the Pope that three new dioceses be created, one of which was the Dubuque Diocese.
Father Charles Fitzmaurice established the Saint Raphael's parish at Dubuque in 1833. This was the first church of any Christian denomination in what was to become the state of Iowa.
Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli was one of the most famous missionaries to work in the Dubuque area. He established a number of parishes in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. He founded parishes named after each of the Archangels - Saint Raphael's in Dubuque, Saint Michael's at Galena, Illinois, and Saint Gabriel's at Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin. Father Mazzuchelli was declared Vernable in 1993 by Pope John Paul II, and his case for Sainthood is pending.
The Dubuque Diocese was created on July 28, 1837. Bishop Matthias Loras was named the first Bishop of the Dubuque Diocese. St. Raphael's became the Cathedral parish. Loras gathered funds and personell for the new Diocese, and he arrived in 1839. He oversaw the expansion of the church in the early years of the diocese, first in the Iowa territory, then after 1846 in the new state of Iowa.
Bishop Loras encouraged immigration to the area, especially German and Irish settlers. He expanded the Catholic church in Dubuque by overseeing the creation of new parishes, and also he invited several religious orders to the area. This included a Cisterian order that built the New Melleray Monastery south of Dubuque. Shortly before his death, he directed the construction of the third and present St. Raphael's Cathedral building.
From 1859 to 1865, the Bishop of Dubuque was Clement Smyth, OSCO. He oversaw continued expansion of the Catholic church in the diocese. It was during his reign that the German Catholics of the city of Dubuque began construction of a new Saint Mary's church due to the fact that they outgrew their previous Church of the Holy Trinity.
After the death of Bishop Smyth in 1865, John Hennessey was named the Bishop of Dubuque. During his reign, the population of Dubuque exploded as the Milwaukee Railroad Shops came to Dubuque. Hennessey created several parishes in Dubuque - Sacred Heart, Holy Ghost, St. Anthony's, and Holy Trinity to deal with this population explosion.
On June 15, 1893 the Dubuque Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese. Bishop Hennessey was elevated to become the first Archbishop of Dubuque in 1898. In 1900, Archbishop Hennessey died, he is buried at the Cathedral in Dubuque.
After the death of Archbishop Hennessey, Archbishop John J. Keane was chosen to lead the Archdiocese. He served for eleven years until poor health forced him to retire in 1911.
The next Archbishop to serve was named James John Keane. Although he and his predecessor shared the same last name, the two men were not related, and they both had very different personalities. The first Archbishop Keane was well liked in the community, and was known as "Sugar" for his kind and generous nature. The second Archbishop Keane was known as "Hickory" for his stern manner.
During the years of the Great Depression and the Second World War, the Archdiocese was lead by Archbishop Francis J.L. Beckman. In the years leading up to the war, Beckman was an opponent of military action. Beckman also was a collector of fine art pieces. He had placed a number of art pieces in a museum at Columbia (now Loras) College. Archbishop Beckman, perhaps thinking that he could gain funds to further his collection, involved the Archdiocese in what turned out to be a dubious gold mine scheme. Because Beckman had signed notes on behalf of the Archdiocese, this caused financial problems for the Archdiocese when the scheme fell apart and the individual who created this scam was arrested. President Roosevelt directed the FBI to investigate Beckman to determine what his involvement would have been. Most of Beckman's collection was sold to pay off the notes. The cost to the Archdiocese was over half a million dollars.
Because of Beckman's troubles Bishop Henry Rohlman returned from the Davenport, Iowa diocese and was installed as Coadjutor Archbishop in 1944. Archbishop Beckman was allowed to retain his office, but was informed that Rohlman now led the Archdiocese. Beckman retired in 1947, and left Dubuque for Cincinatti.
In 1955 Archbishop Leo Binz became Archbishop of Dubuque. He served in that capacity for several years before moving on to the Minnaepolis / Saint Paul, Minnesota Archdiocese to lead Catholics there.
James Byrne was named the next Archbishop of Dubuque in the spring of 1962. On May 8, 1962 he was formally installed at St. Raphael's by the Apostolic Delegate. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Byrne implemented the changes brought about by the council in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Archbishop Byrne generally kept a low profile in the community. He did encourage Catholics to pray daily before the news. Archbishop Byrne retired from office in 1984. After retirement, Byrne remained in Dubuque until his death on August 2, 1996.
On February 23, 1984, Daniel William Kucera, OSB was installed as the tenth Bishop and eighth Archbishop of Dubuque. Archbishop Kucera had earned a doctorate in education. At 36 he had become the youngest President of the Illinois Benedictine College. His background on education has led Vatican officals, including the Pope, to seek his advice. In 1988 the Archdiocese celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding. On October 16, 1995, Archbishop Kucera retired, and moved to Colorado.
The current Archbishop of Dubuque is Jerome George Hanus, OSB. He became Coadjutor Archbishop with the right of sucession on October 27, 1994. When Archbishop Kucera retired in 1995, he became the current Archbishop of Dubuque.
Recent Events
The Dubuque Archdiocese has not been immune to the sexual abuse crisis affecting the church. Like many other dioceses, in the past the Archdiocese had tried to handle such problems quietly through sending the offender to treatment followed by quiet reassingment. Almost immediatly after taking office Archbishop Hanus was forced to deal with a case of sexual abuse by a Dubuque area priest. This priest had molested several young altar servers, one even in a church rectory. In 2000, another priest from the Marion, Iowa area had been found to be engaging in inappropriate activity on the internet. While this priest had not abused any children, the inpropriety had damaged the level of trust between members of the parish and the church. The priest in question was transferred out of parish work, he later died in an automobile accident. Also, a number of cases of past abuse have also come up - some from as long as 60 years ago. The Archdiocese has responded by creating a policy for protecting minors, it also created a review board for dealing with issues of abuse, and has agreed to pay for counseling for victims.
The Archdiocese has also felt the affects of the priest shortage that has affected the church in recent times. In recent years many smaller rural parishes have had to close and their congregrations had been absorbed into other nearby parishes. Some rural parishes have been clustered together where one priest will serve two or more parishes. Some parishes have no resident priest. Another effect is that some duties that a priest would have performed in the past are performed by either religious (Sister or Deacon) individuals, or by the laity.
The Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ has caused controversy in the Archdiocese as well. One of the main issues brought up by the film was an editioral cartoon on the movie that the Dubuque Telegraph-Hearld newspaper published in its Editorial section. This cartoon featured a nun using coroporal punishment. Some in the community have felt that this was a slight against the nuns and all their years of hard work. Others - mainly middle age to older adults have said that this was representative of the nuns who taught them while they were in school. They had said that some of the nuns freely used corporal punishment to enforce discipline.