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 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 ...

. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () 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. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

in Iowa from 1951 to 1956 and as bishop of the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois from 1956 until his death in 1968.

Biography

Early life and ministry

Lane was born on October 19, 1910, in

Cascade, Iowa Cascade is a city in Dubuque and Jones counties, Iowa, United States. The Dubuque County portion is part of Dubuque Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Jones County section is part of Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. The popula ...

, to Thomas and Josephine ( Barrett) Lane. His nephew was Michael A. Hess, 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; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1932, he earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. Loras offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

in Dubuque, Iowa in 1933. He then attended the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome, earning a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or 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 Theology) which are conferred ...

in 1937.

Priesthood

Lane was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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'' () 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 who are as ...

at Nativity Parish 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 ...

until 1940. He studied at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or 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 organized int ...

before earning a Doctorate of Canon Law degree 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 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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

Henry Rohlman Henry Patrick Rohlman ''baptized as Bernard Heinrich Rohlmann'' (March 16, 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 coadju ...

and vice-chancellor and then

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. In 1949,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

named Lane a

domestic prelate Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

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 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. ...

of the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Pius XII. Lane received his episcopal

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

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 Churche ...

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

Bishop of Rockford

Lane was named bishop of the Diocese of Rockford 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 Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1940 to 1958 and as pro-prefect of the Congregation for Propagation of the Faith from March 1958 until hi ...

. 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 and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

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''. S ...

, 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 Inflammation, inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Infla ...

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 at St. James Pro-Cathedral with Archbishop Binz as the homilist. Lane was buried in Calvary Cemetery in

Winnebago, Illinois Winnebago is a Village (United States), village in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago County, Illinois. It is part of the Rockford metropolitan area, Rockford-Winnebago Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,101 at the 2010 census ...

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