25 Facts About Francis Beckman

Francis Joseph Beckman was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

Francis Beckman served as bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa.

Francis Beckman was born on October 25,1875, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Francis and Elizabeth Beckman.

Francis Beckman studied at St Gregory's Preparatory Seminary and Mount St Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati.

Francis Beckman then attended the University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Francis Beckman was ordained to the priesthood on June 20,1902.

Francis Beckman was rector of Mount St Mary's from 1912 to 1924.

Francis Beckman served as Censor Librorum and a consultor for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

On December 23,1923, Francis Beckman was appointed the fourth bishop of Lincoln by Pope Pius XI.

Francis Beckman received his episcopal consecration on May 1,1924, from Archbishop Henry Moeller of Cincinnati.

Francis Beckman shepherded the archdiocese through the Great Depression and World War II.

Francis Beckman started with a small collection of artifacts belonging to Father William Kessler at Columbia Academy in Dubuque.

Francis Beckman placed several art pieces in a museum at Columbia College.

The Francis Beckman collection, including works of Winslow Homer, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck, was valued at $1.5 million.

Francis Beckman perhaps thought that he could gain funds to further his art collection.

President Franklin Roosevelt directed the FBI to investigate Francis Beckman to determine the extent of his involvement in the scam, not because of Francis Beckman's opposition to the president as some believed.

Francis Beckman remained archbishop of Dubuque, but it was made clear to him that actual authority rested with Rohlman.

Francis Beckman remained archbishop of Dubuque until Pope Pius XII named him titular archbishop of Phulli and accepted his retirement on November 11,1946.

Francis Beckman died at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on October 17,1948, at age 72.

Francis Beckman was buried in the mortuary chapel of Saint Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque.

Francis Beckman adopted a pacifist stance in the years before World War II.

Francis Beckman wrote an open letter to Senator William Borah of Idaho encouraging him in his efforts to maintain American neutrality.

At a rally on October 20,1939, Francis Beckman supported noted radio priest Father Charles Coughlin in his stand for peace.

The next week, Francis Beckman went on the radio with Coughlin and said that the Communists wanted the US to enter the war so that, worn out by the war, Americans would become more susceptible to communist thought.

Francis Beckman made numerous speeches against US involvement in the war until Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese in December 1941.