Daniel Kucera - Archbishop of Dubuque

Archbishop of Dubuque

On December 20, 1983 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Kucera as the tenth bishop and eighth archbishop of Dubuque. He was installed as Archbishop on February 23, 1984 at the Five Flags Civic Center in Dubuque. One of the first decisions he made was to sell the ornate episcopal residence and move to a more modest house in Dubuque.

Archbishop Kucera set about reorganizing the archdiocese. This was accomplished by reorganizing or creating archdiocesan boards, and established the first Archbishop's Cabinet to coordinate the running of the archdiocese. The archdiocese was divided into three regions: Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo with a bishop in each region. The number of deaneries were reduced from 16 to 14. Kucera appointed a woman religious chancellor, and two lay people were named to archdiocesan offices. He also had revised guidelines for the Sacrament of Confirmation published in 1986. On November 30, 1986 Kucera issued a proclamation announcing the 150th anniversary of the archdiocese's founding. Various celebrations were held throughout the following year including a large scale liturgy at the Five Flags Center celebrated by Archbishop Pio Laghi, the Papal Pro-Nuncio to the United States. He also approved a controversial renovation of St. Raphael's Cathedral.

In 1994, he requested the appointment of a coadjutor. Bishop Jerome Hanus of Saint Cloud was assigned as Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque. On October 16, 1995 Pope John Paul II accepted Archbishop Kucera's resignation, and he was named Archbishop Emeritus. Archbishop Kucera is currently retired and recently moved back to Dubuque after living in Aurora, Colorado for a number of years.