Loras Thomas Lane (October 19, 1910 – July 22, 1968), was an American prelate 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 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 Iowa from 1951 to 1956 and as bishop of the

Diocese of Rockford The Diocese of Rockford ( la, Diœcesis Rockfordiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern Illinois region of the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving as the pastor of the Moth ...

in Illinois from 1956 until his death in 1968.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Loras Lane was born on October 19, 1910, in

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

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 Thomas and Josephine ( Barrett) Lane. His nephew was

Michael A. Hess Michael Anthony Hess (born Anthony Lee; 5 July 1952 – 15 August 1995) was an Irish-born American lawyer, deputy chief legal counsel and later chief legal counsel to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

, victim of a notorious adoption scandal detailed in the book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee''. Lane attended St. Martin's grade and high schools in Cascade. After graduating from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1932, he earned 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 from

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 Dubuque, Iowa in 1933. He then attended 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, earning 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 ...

in 1937.

Priesthood

Lane 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 by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani on March 19, 1937 in Rome. Upon his return to Iowa in 1937, Lane served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Nativity Parish in

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 ...

until 1940. He studied at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, 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 org ...

before earning a Doctorate of Canon Law degree from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, 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 ...

in Washington, D.C. Lane became an instructor in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and economics, and was appointed dean of men at Loras College. Lane became the secretary 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 Archdi ...

and vice-chancellor and then

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 ...

of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. In 1949,

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 ...

named Lane 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 ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque

On May 29, 1951, Lane was appointed

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 ''Bencenna'' and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Pius XII. Lane 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 August 20, 1951, from 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 ...

in St. Raphael Cathedral in Dubuque. Bishops Joseph Willging and Edward Fitzgerald were the

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. While he was auxiliary bishop, Lane also served as president of Loras College.

Bishop of Rockford

Lane was named bishop of the

on October 11, 1956 by Pius XII. He was installed on November 20, 1956, at St. James Pro-Cathedral by Cardinal

Samuel Stritch Samuel Alphonsius Stritch (August 17, 1887 – May 27, 1958) was an American Cardinal prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1940 to 1958 and as pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Pro ...

. Lane attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

Rome between 1962 and 1965. According to author

Martin Sixsmith Martin Sixsmith (born 24 September 1954) is a British author and radio/television presenter, primarily working for the BBC. He has also worked as an adviser to the Labour government and to the BBC television comedy series ''The Thick of It''. Si ...

, Lane had "earn da reputation among his clerical contemporaries for being hugely ambitious and more than a little cocky".

Kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

began to affect Lane's health a year before his death. Loras Lane died at

Michael Reese Hospital Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1881, Michael Reese Hospital was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest ...

in Chicago on July 22, 1968, at age 57. His funeral was celebrated by Cardinal

John Cody John Patrick Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of St. Louis, he served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964� ...

at St. James Pro-Cathedral with Archbishop Binz as the

homilist A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

. Lane was buried in Calvary Cemetery in

Winnebago, Illinois Winnebago is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It is part of the Rockford-Winnebago Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,101 at the 2010 census, up from 2,958 in 2000. History James Weber Linn (1876–1939), educator ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Loras Thomas 1910 births 1968 deaths People from Cascade, Iowa University of Notre Dame alumni Loras College alumni Catholic University of America alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Rockford Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa Loras College faculty