Henry Rohlman - Archbishop of Dubuque

Archbishop of Dubuque

During the early 1940s, Archbishop Francis Beckman of Dubuque had involved the archdiocese in a dubious financial scheme. Beckman had been talked into investing borrowed money in gold mines with the idea that the profits could be used to further an art collection he had established at Columbia College. However, the scheme was soon revealed to be a fraud, and the man behind the scheme was arrested. Because Beckman had signed loans in the archdiocese's name, it led to financial difficulties for the archdiocese when the holders of the notes began demanding repayment. Because of the financial problems surrounding Beckman, Bishop Rohlman was transferred to Dubuque by Pope Pius XII and named Titular Archbishop of Macra and Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque. It was made clear to Beckman that while he retained the title "Archbishop", Rohlman was now the leader of the archdiocese. On November 11, 1946, Archbishop Beckman retired from office and left Dubuque. Rohlman automatically became the seventh bishop and fifth archbishop 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 Mt. St Bernard's Seminary for the education of new priests in the province. A new $2.5 million building was constructed to house the seminary in Dubuque.

On August 10, 1945, the Diocese of Omaha was elevated to the status of an archdiocese. At that time the Province of Dubuque was reduced in size to the four dioceses in the state of Iowa.

On August 3, 1946, Pope Pius XII appointed a Dubuque priest, Edward Fitzgerald, as the first auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese. He assisted Rohlman until he was appointed Bishop of Winona on October 20, 1949.