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Archdiocese of Dubuque Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis | |
|---|---|
 St. Raphael's Cathedral | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | 30 counties in Northeastern Iowa |
| Ecclesiastical province | Dubuque |
| Coordinates | 42°29′06″N90°40′31″W / 42.48500°N 90.67528°W /42.48500; -90.67528 |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 17,400 sq mi (45,000 km2) |
Population
|
|
| Parishes | 166 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | July 28, 1837 (188 years ago) |
| Cathedral | St. Raphael's Cathedral |
| Patron saint | St. Raphael St. John Vianney[2] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Archbishop | Thomas Robert Zinkula |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Thomas Robert Zinkula |
| Vicar General | Rev. Msgr. Thomas E. Toale, Ph.D. |
| Bishops emeritus | Jerome Hanus,O.S.B. Michael Owen Jackels |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| dbqarch.org | |
TheArchdiocese of Dubuque (Latin:Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical territory, orarchdiocese, of theCatholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state ofIowa in the United States.
The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1893. It is ametropolitan archdiocese with threesuffragan dioceses:
The seat of the archdiocese isSt. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, named in honor of the ArchangelRaphael. As of 2024, the archbishop isThomas Zinkula.[3]
The archdiocese is one of a few Americanarchdioceses that is not based in a major metropolitan area. It includes all the Iowa counties north ofPolk,Jasper,Poweshiek,Iowa,Johnson,Cedar, andClinton counties, and east ofKossuth,Humboldt,Webster andBoone counties. It has an area of approximately 17,400 square miles (45,000 km2).[4]
As of 2023, the archdiocese had 173 priests and 143 permanent deacons serving 163 parishes divided into eightdeaneries. The archdiocese had a Catholic population of approximately 183,700.[4]
The first Catholic presence in present-day Iowa was that of the FrenchJesuit missionary,Jacques Marquette. He traveled down theMississippi River with the French explorerLouis Jolliet in 1673, stopping briefly at what is nowMontrose in southern Iowa.[5] The region would be under French and Spanish control for the next 131 years.
After theLouisiana Purchase of 1803, the Iowa region passed from French to American control. The few Catholics in the area were originally under the jurisdiction of theDiocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. In 1826, the Vatican transferred the Iowa region to the newDiocese of St. Louis. It would remain under this jurisdiction for the next 11 years.[6]
The earliest Catholic settlers in the Iowa region were French-Canadian, German, and Irish. With the growth of the Catholic population, BishopJoseph Rosati of St. Louis sent the Belgian JesuitCharles Van Quickenborne to the newly founded Dubuque in 1833, where he organized the first parish.[7] He was followed in 1834 by Charles Fitzmaurice, who began amassing funds to construct a church. When Fitzmaurice died ofcholera in early 1835, Rosatis sent theDominican friarSamuel Mazzuchelli to replace him.[8]
Mazzuchelli ministered to a scattered Catholic population of under 3,000.[8] In 1835, he dedicated the first church in the present day archdiocese, which he named St. Raphael.[7]
Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Dubuque on July 28, 1837,[9] and namedMathias Loras from theDiocese of Mobile as its first bishop.[8] This vast diocese covered the entireIowa Territory along with what became theMinnesota Territory (including theDakotas).[10]
Gathering funds and personnel inAlabama, Loras arrived in Dubuque in 1839. He designated St. Raphael as the cathedral parish later that year. That same year, he establish St. Raphael Seminary in Dubuque, which in later years would becomeLoras College.[11] Loras encouraged immigration to the area, especially German and Irish settlers.[8]
Loras invited severalreligious orders to the diocese. In 1843, while visitingBaltimore, Loras met with severalSisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He convinced them to come to Dubuque, where they founded St. Joseph's Academy for girls. It became Clarke University in 1881.[12] In 1849, with Ireland ravaged by theGreat Famine, IrishCistercians came to Iowa and built theNew Melleray Abbey in Peosta.[13]
In 1850,Pope Pius IX separated the Minnesota Territory from the Diocese of Dubuque to form the newDiocese of St. Paul.[10] On January 9, 1857, at Loras's request, Pius IX appointedClement Smyth, a Trappist priest, to assist Loras as acoadjutor bishop. In early 1858, Loras started the construction of the current St. Raphael's Cathedral. When Loras died on February 19, 1958, Smyth automatically succeeded him as the second bishop of Dubuque.[14]
As the diocese expanded, Smyth successfully recruited Irish priests to the diocese, primarily fromAll Hallows College inDublin. This caused discontent among the French-born priests in Dubuque, with many of them transferring to other dioceses.[15] In 1863, Smyth consecrated Ephraim McDonnell as the firstabbot for New Melleray after the Vatican elevated to anabbey.[16] During his episcopacy the German Catholics in Dubuque began construction of a new St. Mary's church to replace the Church of the Holy Trinity.
In 1863, during theAmerican Civil War, Smyth learned about a branch of theKnights of the Golden Circle (KCG) in Dubuque, a secret paramilitary society with sympathies for the Confederate South. Smyth told Catholic members of KCG to either quit the organization or be excommunicated.[17] Smyth preached a stinging sermon after the assassination of PresidentAbraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865. That evening, anarsonist set fire to Smyth's carriage house, killing his horses and destroying his carriage and the structure.[15]
Smyth died in 1865. On April 24, 1866, Pius IX appointedJohn Hennessey of Saint Louis as the third bishop of Dubuque.[18] When he arrived in Dubuque, there were 27 priests, 30 churches, two schools and seven sisters.[citation needed]
During Hennessy's tenure, the population of Dubuque exploded as theMilwaukee Railroad opened a maintenance center in the city. Hennessey erected Sacred Heart, Holy Ghost, St. Anthony's, and Holy Trinity Parishes in Dubuque to deal with this population increase. In 1871, Nicholas E. Gonner, a Catholic immigrant fromLuxembourg, founded the Catholic Printing Company in Dubuque, That same year, he started publishing the German languageLuxemburger Gazette.[19][20] In 1878, the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of the Holy Family relocated fromIowa City to Dubuque to staff St. Mary's Orphan Home.[21][22]
Hennessy was a strong proponent of Catholic education, terming public schools as "dens of iniquity" and "gates of hell".[23]
Both Smyth and Hennessy believed that the diocese was becoming too big and should be split up. He proposed that the Vatican erect a new diocese in southern Iowa based in Des Moines. However, in 1881,Pope Leo XIII instead erected theDiocese of Davenport in southern Iowa.[24]
By 1891, the diocese had 203 priests, 319 churches, 615 sisters, and over 135 parochial schools with 16,257 students.[25]
On June 15, 1893, Pope Leo XIII elevated the Diocese of Dubuque to the Archdiocese of Dubuque and Hennessey became the first archbishop.[10] Hennessey died in 1900 and was buried in the mortuary vault that he had constructed under the cathedral.[26] When Hennessey will was read, he had an estate of property and bank accounts exceeding $1,000,000. Since he was poor when assuming office, it was widely assumed that Hennessy had been taking money from the archdiocese.[23]
After the death of Hennessey, Pope Pius X on July 24, 1900, appointedJohn J. Keane, titular archbishop ofDamascus, as the second archbishop of Dubuque.[27]
On January 15, 1902, Pius X erected theDiocese of Sioux City from the western half of the archdiocese.[28] During his tenure as archbishop, John Keane encouraged postgraduate courses and ongoing education for priests, and doubled the faculty and buildings of St. Joseph's College. He established 12 academies for girls and two for boys in the archdiocese. Due to poor health, Keene resigned as archbishop of Dubuque in 1911.[27]
To succeed John Keene, on August 11, 1911, Pius X appointed BishopJames Keane from theDiocese of Cheyenne as the next archbishop of Dubuque.[29] One of James Keane's interests as archbishop wasColumbia College, later called Loras College. When he came to Dubuque, Columbia had an enrollment of 330 students and a faculty of 20. By the time he died, Columbia had 700 students and 48 faculty members.[30]
A strong believer in Catholic education, James Keane encouraged all Catholics in the archdiocese tp support the parochial schools, even if they did not have children attending them.[30] He also started the diocesan newspaper, theWitness. In 1928, theSisters of Mercy opened Mount Mercy Junior College in Cedar Rapids. It was a two-year college for women that in 1960 became Mount Mercy University.[31] Keene died on August 2, 1929.[18]
On January 17, 1930,Pope Pius XI named BishopFrancis J. Beckman from theDiocese of Lincoln as archbishop of Dubuque. Impressed with the Catholic culture he had seen in Europe, Beckman began to collectfine art pieces. The Beckman collection includes works ofWinslow Homer, Rembrandt,Rubens, and Van Dyck.[32]
In 1936, promoter Phillip Suetter convinced Beckman to invest in a gold mine in Oregon. Beckman borrowed money onpromissory notes to fund the project. It soon became clear that the project was a scam. In 1941, the Vatican ordered the creation of a Special Commission on Administration, composed of three American archbishops, to take control of the archdiocese's finances. In 1942, Suetter was convicted of violating theSecurities and Exchange Act. With the diocese $600,000 in debt, the archbishops recommended to Pius XII that he appoint a coadjutor archbishop to run the archdiocese.[citation needed]
On June 15, 1944, Pope Pius XII appointed BishopHenry Rohlman from Davenport as coadjutor archbishop of Dubuque. When Beckman retired in 1947, Rohlman automatically succeeded him as bishop of Dubuque.
While Rohlman was archbishop, Christ the King Chapel was constructed at Loras College, St. Mary's Home for Children was built in Dubuque, and the number of priests in the archdiocese rose from 290 to 345. Rohlman, along with the other bishops in Iowa, re-established the Mount St. Bernard Seminary for the education of new priests in the province. The archdiocese built a $2.5 million home for the seminary in Dubuque.[33]
On October 15, 1949, Pius XII named BishopLeo Binz from the Diocese of Winona as coadjutor archbishop in Dubuque. When Rohlman retired on December 2, 1954, Binz replaced him.[34] During his seven years as archbishop, Binz helped develop Catholic high schools in the archdiocese.[35] He also established the North American Martyrs Retreat House inCedar Falls, and expanded the archdiocesan branch ofCatholic Charities. On December 16, 1961,Pope John XXIII named Binz as archbishop of Saint Paul.[34]
John XXIII nominated BishopJames Byrne from theDiocese of Boise to be the next archbishop of Dubuque on March 7, 1962.[36] After theSecond Vatican Council (1962 to 1965), Byrne implemented many of its reforms in the archdiocese, including a priests senate, a clergy advisory board, and an advisory board for the assignment of priests to parishes. In 1964, the Trappist sisters founded Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Dubuque.[37]
Byrne retired from office on August 23, 1983.[36] On December 20, 1983,Pope John Paul II appointed BishopDaniel Kucera of the Diocese of Salina as the eighth archbishop of Dubuque.[38]
In 1987, Kucera launched a plan that divided the archdiocese into three regions with a resident bishop in each. TheDubuque Region was served by retired Archbishop James Byrne and Archbishop Kucera; theCedar Rapids Region by Bishop Francis Dunn, andWaterloo Region by William Franklin who was consecrated as a bishop in April 1987. However, Bishop Kucera eventually dropped the plan after the death of Bishop Dunn in 1989 and Bishop Franklin's nomination as the head of theDiocese of Davenport.[citation needed]
In 1986 the archdiocese celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding. John Paul II named BishopJerome Hanus from theDiocese of St. Cloud as coadjutor archbishop in Dubuque on August 23, 1994. When retired on October 16, 1995, Hanus became archbishop.[38][39]
As archbishop, Hanus implemented astrategic planning process throughout the archdiocese. He sent videotaped messages to all the parishes to be played at mass. Parishioners were given opportunities to respond and express their own views. Hanus then issued avision statement, which spelled out his plans for the archdiocese. These plans included an increased role for thelaity in leadership roles,[40] necessitated by thepriest shortage and the changing demographics of the archdiocese. These conditions also forced Hanus to combine and close a number of parishes.[41]
After Hanus retired in 2013, Pope Francis on April 8, 2013, appointed BishopMichael Jackels from the Diocese of Wichita as the next archbishop of Dubuque.[42] On April 24, 2023, a cardiac condition forced Jackels to immediately retire as archbishop. Francis appointed Bishop EmeritusRichard Pates from Des Moines to serve as theapostolic administrator, running the archdiocese.[43]
On July 26, 2023, Francis appointedThomas Zinkula from Davenport as the eleventh archbishop of Dubuque.[44] As of October 2024, he is the current archbishop of Dubuque
Founded in 1874, St. John the Baptist parish is now part of the St. Elizabeth Pastorate, a cluster of parishes in northernDubuque County, Iowa.[45] In July 1874, Bishop Hennessy granted Catholic residents of Centralia permission to build St. John the Baptist Church. They laid the cornerstone in the fall of 1874 and George W. Heer became the first pastor in 1875. When the railroad came through neighboring Peosta, Archbishop John Keane decided in 1923 to move St. John there. During the winter, parishioners would travel to services by horse-drawn bobsled.[45] In 1989, the parish dedicated a new church building.
Founded in 1891, St. Francis Parish inBalltown is now part of the St. John Baptist de La Salle Pastorate. The parish traces its history to 1858 when area Catholics petitioned Bishop Loras to establish a parish for them. Loras visited Balltown and offered mass in alog cabin.[46] In 1891, parishioners built a brick building to house a school and a convent. and established a cemetery. The school opened in September 1891 with 45 children. The priest celebrated mass in a small sanctuary adjoining the schoolroom.[46]
In 1892, the parish laid the cornerstone for the St. Francis Church building. On August 27, 1976, the church was destroyed by fire. The parish built a new church, demolishing the old convent building to make room for it.[46]
Founded in 1852, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish inSherrill, Iowa, is now part of the St. John Baptist de La Salle Pastorate.[47]
Before the parish was founded, its Catholics had to travel 15 miles by ox-team to Dubuque to attend mass. With the influx of German Catholic immigrants to the area, Bishop Loras established the St. William Parish in Sherrill. It was renamed Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in 1860.[48][47] In 1889, the parish replaced its original wood church with the current brick and stoneRomanesque Revival structure.[48] During the 1970s, the parish removed the original carved woodaltars from the church and painted over its 19th-century wood trim.[47]
For over 100 years, theFranciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) ofLa Crosse, Wisconsin, operated the parish school. The school is now consolidated in Sherrill with the parish school from Balltown.[47]
Other early parishes in the diocese includeSt. Mary's,Sacred Heart, andHoly Ghost.
In the Archdiocese of Dubuque, the Catholic schools are all part of the Holy Family system. The archdiocese has three Catholic colleges:Loras College andClarke University in Dubuque andMount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque, as with many other archdioceses and dioceses in the US, has been affected by theCatholic Church sexual abuse crisis in the United States. Although a large settlement was paid to victims by Archbishop Jerome Hanus in 2006, cases continue to surface and be litigated.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Dubuque".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Places adjacent to Archdiocese of Dubuque | |
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Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Dubuque | ||
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| Higher education | ||
