Martin Cone (1882–1963) was a

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 A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in the

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and served as the sixth 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 1930 to 1937.

Biography

He was a native of

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...

, and studied for the priesthood at

St. Mary’s Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by th ...

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, where he 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 ...

on June 12, 1912. He did graduate studies at

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 ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and 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 ...

where he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

. He was assigned to the faculty of St. Ambrose College after ordination. Cone was a social worker who taught social sciences at St. Ambrose for 16 years before becoming president. While serving at the college he was also pastor of St. Patrick’s parish in Villa Nova. Cone led the effort to bring

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

to the diocese in the late 1920s, and served as its first director from 1929 until his death in 1963. He had an interest in St. Vincent’s Home in Davenport where he helped to improve the living conditions of the children and professionalized the staff. As president at St Ambrose he took over at the beginning of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Cone is credited with building the faculty, taking over at a time when priests were paid $15 a month for teaching. Cone also instituted summer sessions on campus. He was also instrumental in developing a college for women in Davenport that would become

Marycrest College Marycrest College Historic District is located on a bluff overlooking the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district encompasses the campus of Marycrest College, which was a small, private collegiate institution. The school becam ...

. In the 1930s he worked with Msgrs. William Shannahan and George Giglinger to develop a local radio program on WOC that featured Catholic topics. In 1937 he joined the board of the diocesan newspaper, ''The Catholic Messenger''. Bishop

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 ...

nominated Father Cone for papal honors twice. In 1931 Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

named him 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 ...

. 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 him a Protonotary Apostolic in 1941.Schmidt, 350. After his presidency Msgr. Cone was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral, and

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 of Davenport. When Bishop Rohlman became

coadjutor archbishop 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 ...

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 ...

in 1944, Msgr. Cone became administrator of the diocese until Bishop Ralph Leo Hayes was named Bishop of Davenport. In the 1940s he helped organize the diocese’s participation in the War Emergency and Relief Collection, which was sponsored by the National Catholic Welfare Council. He died in Davenport in 1963 at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cone, Martin 1882 births 1963 deaths St. Ambrose University faculty Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Presidents of St. Ambrose University People from Clinton, Iowa People from Davenport, Iowa Catholic University of America alumni Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American academics