Francis Joseph Beckman (October 25, 1875 – October 17, 1948) was an American
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He served as bishop of the
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.
History
The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...
in Nebraska (1924–1930) and as archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States.
It includes all the Iowa counti ...
in Iowa (1930–1946).
Biography
Early life
Francis Beckman was born on October 25, 1875, in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, to Francis and Elizabeth (née Fenker) Beckman.
He studied at St. Gregory's Preparatory Seminary and
Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati. He then attended the
University of Louvain
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
in Leuven, Belgium, and the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
in Rome.
Priesthood
He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
to the
priesthood on June 20, 1902.
Following his ordination, he received a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...
(1907) and later a
Doctor of Sacred Theology
The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, ...
(1908) from the Gregorian.
After his return to Cincinnati, Beckman joined the faculty of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, where he served as professor of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
dogmatic theology
Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...
(1908–1912).
He was
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Mount St. Mary's from 1912 to 1924.
He also served as ''
Censor Librorum
An ''imprimatur'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the R ...
'' and a
consultor
A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor.
In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions:
*in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...
for the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati ( la, Archidiœcesis Cincinnatensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese that covers the southwest region of the U.S. state of Ohio, including the greater Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan ...
.
Bishop of Lincoln
On December 23, 1923, Beckman was appointed the fourth bishop of Lincoln by
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 fro ...
.
He received his
episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
on May 1, 1924, from Archbishop
Henry Moeller of Cincinnati. Bishops
Joseph Schrembs
Joseph Schrembs (March 12, 1866 – November 2, 1945) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan for five months in 1911, as bishop of the Diocese of Tol ...
of Cleveland and
Joseph Chartrand
Joseph Chartrand (May 11, 1870 – December 8, 1933) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the 6th Bishop of Indianapolis, serving from 1918 until his death in 1933.
Biography
Joseph Chartrand was born in St. Louis, Missouri, t ...
of Indianapolis were the principal co-consecrators.
Beckman served the diocese for almost six years. During his time in Lincoln, he served as
apostolic administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of the
Diocese of Omaha
The Archdiocese of Omaha ( la, Archidioecesis Omahensis) is Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current archbishop, George Joseph Lucas, was installed in Omaha on July 22, 2009. The ar ...
from June 1926 to July 1928.
Archbishop of Dubuque
Pope Pius XI appointed Bishop Beckman Archbishop of Dubuque on January 17, 1930. Beckman shepherded the archdiocese through the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During his tenure as archbishop, the
St. Vincent de Paul Society
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.
Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...
, the
Holy Name Societies, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Conference on Industrial Relations, and the
Catholic Youth Organization
Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...
grew with his support. The Catholic Student's Mission Crusade, which he founded while in Cincinnati, held its 1935 convention in Dubuque.
[http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=BECKMAN%2C_Francis_J.L .] In 1939, the archdiocese's Columbia College in Dubuque was renamed
Loras College
Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...
in honor of Dubuque's first bishop,
Mathias Loras
Mathias Loras (August 30, 1792 – February 19, 1858) was an immigrant French priest to the United States and the first bishop of the Dubuque Diocese in what would become the state of Iowa.
Early life and ministry
Pierre-Jean-Mathias Loras was ...
.
Impressed with Catholic culture he had seen in Europe, Beckman began to collect fine art pieces. He started with a small collection of artifacts belonging to Father William Kessler at Columbia Academy in Dubuque. Beckman placed several art pieces in a museum at
Columbia College. The Beckman collection, including works of
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...
, Rembrandt,
Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
, and Van Dyck, was valued at $1.5 million.
In 1936, promoter Phillip Suetter sold Beckman on the idea of investing borrowed money in gold mines. Beckman perhaps thought that he could gain funds to further his art collection. Instead, he involved the archdiocese in what turned out to be a fraudulent gold mine scheme. Beckman signed
promissory notes
A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
on behalf of the archdiocese. When scheme fell apart and Suetter was arrested, the archdiocese lost its investment. President
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
directed the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
to investigate Beckman to determine the extent of his involvement in the scam, not because of Beckman's opposition to the president as some believed. Soon the holders of the notes began demanding repayment. The archdiocese sold Beckman's art collection to help pay off the notes. The ultimate loss to the archdiocese was over $500,000.
As a result of all of Beckman's problems, on June 15, 1944,
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
appointed 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 ...
of
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
as
coadjutor archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence.
These include:
* Coadj ...
and apostolic administrator. Beckman remained archbishop of Dubuque, but it was made clear to him that actual authority rested with Rohlman.
Retirement and legacy
Beckman remained archbishop of Dubuque until Pope
Pius XII
Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia.
It may refer to:
People Popes
* Pope Pius (disambiguation)
* Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect
Given name
* Pius B ...
named him
titular archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Phulli and accepted his retirement on November 11, 1946. Following his retirement, Beckman moved from Dubuque to
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Francis Beckman died at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, on October 17, 1948, at age 72. He was buried in the mortuary chapel of
Saint Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque.
Viewpoints
Popular culture
Beckman began a campaign against
swing music
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...
in 1938. He made headlines when he spoke before the National Council of Catholic Women in October and openly denounced it as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away the moral fiber of young people" which would lead one down a "primrose path to Hell."
Foreign policy
Beckman adopted a pacifist stance in the years before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
He wrote an open letter to Senator
William Borah
William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken History of the United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in History of Idaho, Idaho's history. A Progressivism ...
of Idaho encouraging him in his efforts to maintain American neutrality. At a rally on October 20, 1939, Beckman supported noted radio priest Father
Charles Coughlin
Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...
in his stand for peace. The next week, Beckman went on the radio with Coughlin and said that the Communists wanted the U.S. to enter the war so that, worn out by the war, Americans would become more susceptible to communist thought.
He made numerous speeches against U.S. involvement in the war until
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
was attacked by the Japanese in December 1941.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckman, Francis
1875 births
1948 deaths
Religious leaders from Cincinnati
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
Roman Catholic bishops of Lincoln
Roman Catholic archbishops of Dubuque