Justin Albert Driscoll (September 30, 1920—November 19, 1984) was an American

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

clergyman. He served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

(1967-1970) and Bishop of Fargo (1970-1984).

Biography

Early life

Justin Driscoll was born on September 30, 1920, in

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

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 ...

, to William and Agnes (née Healey) Driscoll. He studied at

in Dubuque, Iowa, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1942. He completed his

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

studies at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Priesthood

Driscoll 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 for 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 count ...

on July 28, 1945. He then served as a teacher at Loras Academy until 1948, when he became

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

to Archbishop

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 Archd ...

. In 1952 he earned his Ph.D. from Catholic University.Returning to Iowa, he served as secretary to 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 ...

(1952-1953) and

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

s in the Archdiocese (1953-1967).

President of Loras College

Driscoll was named

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Loras College in 1967. During his administration, he gave full

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s to twelve

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

students. According to later Loras President Francis Friedl, these students were radicalized after spending a summer with

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

's organization in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

When the students returned to Loras, they occupied a school building and sent a list of demands to the administration. After the students left the building, they were suspended for a semester. The semester length of the suspension and other factors made Driscoll unpopular with some faculty, who then sought his resignation.

Bishop of Fargo

On September 8, 1970, Driscoll was appointed the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Fargo by

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 ...

. He received his episcopal

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 October 18, 1970. from Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, with Archbishops

and James Byrne serving as co-consecrators. Justin Driscoll died on November 19 1984 in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

, at age 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, Justin Albert 1920 births 1984 deaths Loras College alumni Catholic University of America alumni People from Dubuque County, Iowa Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Fargo Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa