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

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest who served as the second president of St. Ambrose College in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

from 1891 to 1906.

Biography

Flannagan was born in

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

, and was ordained a priest for the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The current bishop of D ...

by Bishop Henry Cosgrove in

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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

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for girls, also in Davenport. The two worked together on many events between the two schools. Flannagan promoted the boys' 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 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 or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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