Francis John Dunn (March 22, 1922 – November 17, 1989) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the

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in the

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. He served as an auxiliary bishop 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 the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

from 1969 to 1989.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Dunn was born in

Elkader, Iowa Elkader is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,209 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,465 in 2000. It is the county seat of Clayton County. It is the site of Iowa's lowest recorded minimum temperature, on ...

, the son of Peter and Josephine (Feeney) Dunn. He was educated at St Joseph Grade and High School in Elkader before receiving his college education at

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 ...

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

. He studied for the priesthood at Kenrick Seminary in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Dunn was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dubuque on January 11, 1948, by Auxiliary Bishop Edward Fitzgerald at St. Raphael’s Cathedral. He served as the associate pastor at St. Cecilia Parish in

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from 1948-1950, St. Martin Parish in

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from 1950 to 1952, and at Nativity Parish in Dubuque from 1952 to 1955. In 1956 he was named assistant

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and chaplain of St. Anthony’s Home for the Aged in Dubuque. He was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for further studies and when he returned he served as

and head of the Family Life Bureau. From 1961 to 1969 he served as the chaplain for the

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by its initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. Its founders were Irish Catholics. The BVM currently works in t ...

at the Mount Carmel Motherhouse and as Director of Catholic Cemeteries for the archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque

On June 1, 1969,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named Dunn

Titular Bishop 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 ''Turris Tamalleni'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque. He was ordained a bishop by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

James Byrne of Dubuque in St. Raphael’s Cathedral on August 27, 1969. The principal co-consecrators were Archbishop

Leo Binz Leo Binz (October 31, 1900 – October 9, 1979) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dubuque (1954–1961) and as Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1962–1975). A native of Illinois, he became a ...

of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Bishop Edward Fitzgerald now of

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. His was the first episcopal ordination in the archdiocese that used the Rite of Ordination in English. While he served as auxiliary bishop in Dubuque he was also the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the archdiocese and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Joseph the Worker Church. On February 8, 1987, Archbishop

Daniel Kucera Daniel William Kucera, OSB (Czech pronunciation uˈtsera May 7, 1923 – May 30, 2017) was a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as an Auxiliary Bishop in Joliet (1977–1980), the Bishop of Salina (1980–1983), and as the Archbish ...

announced his plans to divide the archdiocese into three regions with a resident bishop in each region. Bishop Dunn served the Cedar Rapids Region, Bishop

William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Gov ...

served the Waterloo Region, and the archbishop in Dubuque. Dunn died in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

on November 17, 1989 at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Francis John 1922 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Loras College alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque People from Elkader, Iowa People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa