William Lawrence Adrian (April 16, 1883 – February 13, 1972) 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

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 Nashville in Tennessee from 1936 to 1969.

Biography

Early life

William Adrian was born in

Sigourney, Iowa Sigourney ( ) is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,004 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Keokuk County, Iowa, Keokuk County. Keokuk County Court ...

, to Nicholas and Mary (Paulus) Adrian. 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 St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa in 1906. He then studied at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

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 ...

Adrian 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 in Rome by Cardinal

Pietro Respighi Pietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD (22 September 1843 – 22 March 1913) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. He was born in Bologna , the son of a mathematics professor at the ...

for the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the United States, U.S. state of Iowa ...

on April 15, 1911. Following his return to the United States, he served as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at St. Ambrose College for twenty-four years and as its

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

from 1932 to 1935; Adrian also coached

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and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and manual training. He became

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. Bridget's Parish in

Victor, Iowa Victor is a town in Poweshiek and Iowa counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 875 in the 2020 census, a decline from the population of 952 in 2000. History Victor was laid out in the 1860s. The town was originally called Wilso ...

in 1935.

Bishop of Nashville

On February 2, 1936, Adrian was appointed the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Nashville by

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 ...

. He learned of his appointment by a letter from the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

: "among isletters...With trembling fingers eopened it and read...and was so overwhelmed with wonder that ecould read no farther." Adrian received his

episcopal consecration 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 ...

on April 16, 1936, from Archbishop Amelto Cicognani at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa. Bishops

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 ...

and Moses E. Kiley served as co-consecrators. Adrian, who became known as a "man who gets things done," oversaw the creation of several parishes, acquisition of a new episcopal residence in

East Nashville, Tennessee East Nashville is an area east of downtown Nashville in Tennessee across the Cumberland River. The area is mostly residential and mixed-use areas with businesses lining the main boulevards. The main thoroughfares are Gallatin Ave (also known as ...

, remodeling of the Cathedral, and establishment of a

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

and the National Council of Catholic Women. In 1954, Adrian ordered the

racial desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

of all parochial schools in Nashville and Davidson County, far ahead of public school desegregation. He attended 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) ...

in Rome from 1962 to 1965. On September 4, 1969, Pope Paul VI accepted Adrian's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Nashville and named him

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 Elo''.'' Adrian resigned that post on January 13, 1971. William Adrian died in Nashville on February 13, 1972, at age 88.

References

External links

William Adrian
at DioceseofNashville.com
William Lawrence Adrian
at Findagrave.com

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian, William Lawrence 1883 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic bishops of Nashville People from Sigourney, Iowa People from Victor, Iowa Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport St. Ambrose University alumni Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa St. Ambrose University faculty