John Thomas Aloysius Flannagan (1860–1926) was 19th and 20th century

Catholic 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 ...

priest who served as the second 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 1891 to 1906.

Biography

Flannagan was born in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

, and was ordained a priest for 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

in 1885. After ordination he was assigned to the cathedral and then became the second priest on the St. Ambrose faculty during the Rev. A.J. Schulte's duration as president. He eventually became vice president and master of discipline. Flannagan became president of the college in 1891. While he was president of St. Ambrose his own sister, Sr. Mary Editha Flannagan, BVM, ran

Immaculate Conception Academy Immaculate Conception Academy, Dasmariñas (ICA Dasmariñas) is a private, nonsectarian educational institution in Dasmariñas, Philippines. It is owned and managed by the school board of directors. History Immaculate Conception Academy, In ...

for girls, also in Davenport. The two worked together on many events between the two schools. Flannagan promoted the boy's choir and

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on campus. Monastic-style rules were to be observed by the students. Silence was to be maintained, except at recreation, and religion, politics and nationality were forbidden topics of conversation,Schmidt, 151. Additions were made to Ambrose Hall in 1893 (east wing) and 1901 (west wing). A baseball field was constructed on campus, and football was played even though it was not considered gentlemanly.Schmidt, 152 Room and board for a five-month term was $95 plus $5 for physicians care for the school year. By the end of his presidency, the school's name was officially changed from St. Ambrose Seminary to St. Ambrose College. Enrollment in the school rose slowly, but steadily, to 126 students. Flannagan went to Sacred Heart Cathedral parish as

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 ...

after his term as president in 1906. The following year he was named

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 diocese. He died in Davenport on January 26, 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flannagan, John 1860 births 1926 deaths Presidents of St. Ambrose University St. Ambrose University faculty Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport American Roman Catholic priests People from Haverhill, Massachusetts People from Davenport, Iowa Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Massachusetts Catholics from Iowa