His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Loras Thomas Lane

JCD
Bishop of Rockford
titular bishop of Bencenna
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeDiocese of Rockford
In officeNovember 20, 1956 –
July 22, 1968
PredecessorRaymond Peter Hillinger
SuccessorArthur Joseph O'Neill
Orders
OrdinationMarch 19, 1937
by Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani
ConsecrationAugust 20, 1951
by Leo Binz
Personal details
Born(1910-10-19)October 19, 1910
Cascade, Iowa, USA
DiedJuly 22, 1968(1968-07-22) (aged 57)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Previous post(s)Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque
1951 to 1956
MottoVia veritas (The way of truth)

Loras Thomas Lane (October 19, 1910 – July 22, 1968), was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque 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, to Thomas and Josephine (née Barrett) Lane.[1] His nephew was Michael A. Hess, victim of a notorious adoption scandal detailed in the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.[2]

Lane attended St. Martin's grade and high schools in Cascade.[3] After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1932, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa in 1933. He then attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1937.

Priesthood

Lane was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani on March 19, 1937, in Rome.[4]

Upon his return to Iowa in 1937, Lane served as a curate at Nativity Parish in Dubuque until 1940. He studied at the University of Iowa before earning a Doctorate of Canon Law degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Lane became an instructor in Spanish and economics, and was appointed dean of men at Loras College. Lane became the secretary to Archbishop Henry Rohlman and vice-chancellor and then chancellor of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.[1][3] In 1949, Pope Pius XII named Lane a domestic prelate.

Auxiliary Bishop of Dubuque

On May 29, 1951, Lane was appointed titular bishop of Bencenna and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Pius XII.[5] Lane received his episcopal consecration on August 20, 1951, from Archbishop Leo Binz in St. Raphael Cathedral in Dubuque. Bishops Joseph Willging and Edward Fitzgerald were the co-consecrators.[5] While he was auxiliary bishop, Lane also served as president of Loras College.[3]

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. Lane attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council Rome between 1962 and 1965. According to author Martin Sixsmith, Lane had "earn[ed] a reputation among his clerical contemporaries for being hugely ambitious and more than a little cocky".[2] Kidney disease began to affect Lane's health a year before his death.[4]

Loras Lane died at Michael Reese Hospital 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.

References

  1. 1 2 Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
  2. 1 2 Martin, Sixsmith (24 October 2013). Philomena: The True Story of a Mother and the Son She Had to Give Away (film Tie-in ed.). Pan Macmillan. p. 118. ISBN 978-1447245223 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 Gallagher, BVM, Mary Kevin (ed.) (1987). Seed/Harvest: A History of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Duduque, Iowa: Archdiocese of Dubuque Press. p. 161. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. 1 2 "Bishop Loras T. Lane". Diocese of Rockford. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  5. 1 2 David M. Cheney. "Bishop Loras Thomas Lane". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
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