Daniel William Kucera, OSB (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

pronunciation uˈtsera May 7, 1923 – May 30, 2017) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

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. He served as an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

in Joliet (1977–1980), the Bishop of Salina (1980–1983), and as the Archbishop of Dubuque (1983–1995).

Early life and ministry

Kucera was born in a

family in

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, on May 7, 1923, and given the name William. His parents were Joseph F. and Lillian (Petrzelka) Kucera. Kucera was educated at St. Procopius College (now known as

Benedictine University Benedictine University is a Private university, private Catholic Colleges in the United States, Catholic university with campuses in Lisle, Illinois, and Mesa, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1887 by the Benedictine monks of St. Proco ...

) in

Lisle, Illinois Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the Illinois ...

. He took the religious name of Daniel when he professed religious vows June 16, 1944, at St. Procopius Abbey in the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained a priest. Kucera earned a doctorate in education from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

in 1954. His background in education has led Vatican officials — including the Pope — to ask his advice on educational matters. He served in various administrative positions at St. Procopius College until he was named the college's president. On July 8, 1964, he was elected

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of St. Procopius Abbey and received his abbatial blessing on August 19, 1964. He served as abbot until June 1, 1971, when he resigned to become the college's president again. On June 6, 1977,

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

named Kucera

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 Natchesium and Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet. He was consecrated by Bishop Romeo Roy Blanchette of Joliet. Bishops Andrew Grutka of Gary and Raymond Vonesh, auxiliary bishop of Joliet, served as primary co-consecrators.

Bishop of Salina

On March 5, 1980, Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Kucera as the eighth bishop of Salina, in the state of

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. He was formally installed in Sacred Heart Cathedral on May 7, 1980, by Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker of Kansas City in Kansas. During his three years as bishop of the diocese the Diocesan Office of Planning, the Bishop's Council for Catholic Education and the Office of Youth Ministries were established. The diocese hired a business manager, and the chancery and other administrative offices of the diocese were moved to a larger building downtown. Marymount College in Salina became a diocesan institution after the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia decided they were no longer able to continue ownership. The college closed in 1989.

Archbishop of Dubuque

On December 20, 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed Kucera as the tenth bishop and eighth archbishop of Dubuque. He was installed as archbishop on February 23, 1984, at the Five Flags Civic Center in

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

. One of the first decisions he made was to sell the old episcopal residence and move to a more modest house in Dubuque. Kucera set about reorganizing the archdiocese. This was accomplished by reorganizing or creating archdiocesan boards, and established the first Archbishop's Cabinet to coordinate the running of the archdiocese. The archdiocese was divided into three regions: Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo with a bishop in each region. The number of deaneries were reduced from 16 to 14. Kucera appointed a woman religious chancellor, and two lay people were named to archdiocesan offices. He also had revised guidelines for the Sacrament of Confirmation published in 1986. On November 30, 1986, Kucera issued a proclamation announcing the 150th anniversary of the archdiocese's founding. Various celebrations were held throughout the following year including a large scale liturgy at the Five Flags Center celebrated by Archbishop

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the ...

, the Papal Pro-Nuncio to the United States. He also approved a controversial renovation of St. Raphael's Cathedral. In 1994, he requested the appointment of a

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

. Bishop

Jerome Hanus Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B. (born May 26, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, presiding as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1995 until 2013. A member of the Order of Saint Benedict, Hanus served ...

of Saint Cloud was assigned as Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque. On October 16, 1995, Pope John Paul II accepted Kucera's resignation, and he was named archbishop emeritus.

Later life and death

By 2013 Kucera had moved back to Dubuque after living in

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, for a number of years. On May 31, 2017, church officials confirmed that Kucera had died at Stonehill Care Center in Dubuque on May 30, 2017, at the age of 94. His funeral was held at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, and he was interred in the cemetery of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle.

References

Episcopal succession