Aloysius Joseph Schulte (1858–1940) was the first president of

St. Ambrose College St Ambrose College is a Christian Brothers' Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Hale Barns, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1946 by Dr Joseph Robertson. In 2012 the school became an academy, and was completely re-b ...

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, from 1882 to 1891.

Biography

Schulte was born in

Fort Madison, Iowa Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...

. He received his classical education from St. Francis Seminary in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, and studied for the priesthood at St. John's University in

Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, near St. Joseph. The community is located near the junction of Collegeville Road and Old Collegeville Road. Nearby is Saint John's Abb ...

. He was ordained a priest on December 28, 1881, by Bishop John McMullen, first bishop of the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. There are within the diocese. The diocese's eastern ...

, at St. Margaret's Cathedral. He was the first priest ordained for the diocese. After ordination Schulte worked as a cathedral assistant before he was slated by McMullen to organize St. Ambrose College. The school had 40

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students during the first year, and 85 students when he left. In addition to his administrative responsibilities he taught Latin, German and rhetoric. During Schulte's presidency, the central portion of Ambrose Hall was built. In 1889 he was appointed to a committee to promote and ensure quality education in the schools of the diocese by Bishop

Henry Cosgrove Henry Cosgrove (December 19, 1834 – December 23, 1906) was a late 19th-century and early 20th-century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the second bishop of Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1884 to until his deat ...

. After leaving St. Ambrose College, Schulte took a pastorate at St. Mary's Church in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. He would spend nearly 50 years as pastor of St. Mary's during which time many expansion and improvement projects were undertaken. He also focused his attention on the parish school. At the very beginning of his pastorate the present

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

was built in 1892. The same year he purchased property for a new school and the new building was built the following year. High school grades were added to the school in 1897, and Schulte saw to it that the school was accredited by the

State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

. It was the first Catholic high school is the state to receive the accreditation. The church was renovated and redecorated from 1907-1908. An addition was built on to the school in 1911, which included an auditorium and cafeteria, and a new convent was built for the Sisters who taught in the school in 1926. Bishop

Henry Rohlman Henry Patrick Rohlman (March 17, 1876 – September 13, 1957) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1927 to 1944 and as coadjutor archbishop and archbishop of the Archdi ...

nominated Schulte for papal honors twice. In 1927 Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

named Schulte a

Domestic Prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

, and in 1931 named him a

Protonotary Apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

. Both honors allowed Schulte the use of the title Right Reverend Monsignor. Msgr. Schulte died while still pastor at St. Mary's on January 17, 1940, and was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Iowa City. He was 81 years old. He does have some relatives living in Iowa today.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulte, Aloysius 1858 births 1940 deaths Presidents of St. Ambrose University Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport People from Fort Madison, Iowa People from Davenport, Iowa American Roman Catholic priests Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa