Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport

St. Vincent Center, the Diocesan Pastoral Center

Before 1881, the Diocese of Dubuque's territory comprised the entire state of Iowa. Previous divisions had taken territory outside the state of Iowa from the Diocese to give to other newly created Dioceses. Eventually, Bishop John Hennessy became convinced that the Dubuque Diocese should be further divided, with the Dubuque Diocese covering the northern half of the state, and the southern half covered by a new diocese. Hennessy felt that the See of this new Diocese should have been located at Des Moines, Iowa. However the Holy See chose Davenport as the See city of this Diocese.

On June 14, 1881, the southern territory of the Dubuque Diocese was taken to form the Diocese of Davenport.[1][2] Fr. John McMullen, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago was chosen to be the first Bishop. Bishop McMullen was consecrated by Archbishop Patrick Feehan of Chicago, Bishop John Hennessy of Dubuque, and Bishop John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria.

The Diocese of Davenport was split in two on August 12, 1911, which reduced it to its current size. The Diocese of Des Moines became the See city of this new diocese, which covered the southwestern quarter of the state of Iowa.

The diocese of Davenport has been affected by the abuse scandal involving members of the clergy and focused on Bishop Lawrence Soens. On October 10, 2006, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport filed for Chapter 11 protection.[3] By November 27, 2007, $37 million had been allocated to 156 persons.[4][5] In 2014, documents released revealed that former Diocese of Davenport priest James Janssen, who sexually abused many boys in the Diocese of Davenport and was laicized in 2004 for sex abuse, said in court during lawsuits that "I'm very sick."[6] Janssen died in 2015.

On March 20, 2020, It was announced that Catholic priest and theology professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University Robert L. "Bud" Grant was suspended from teaching and practicing ministry after a sex abuse allegation surfaced.[7][8] The alleged sex abuse was committed during his time in the Diocese of Des Moines in the early 1990s.[7][8] St. Ambrose University confirmed Grant's suspension and the Diocese of Davenport announced that Grant would be removed as the sacramental minister at the St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass.[7][8] Both suspensions will last until at least the time the Diocese of Des Moines completes the investigation against Grant.[7][8]

From its very beginning the diocese has a history of supporting higher education. At one time there were four Catholic colleges within the boundaries of the Diocese of Davenport. Today there is only one, Saint Ambrose University.

Christ the King Chapel at St. Ambrose.

St. Ambrose began as a seminary and school of commerce for young men in September 1882. It was founded by the diocese's first bishop, Rt. Rev. John McMullen, in the school building of St. Margaret's Cathedral. The school moved to its current location in 1885. Its name was changed to St. Ambrose College in 1908 to better reflect its identity. The school grew steadily over the years and in 1987 it became St. Ambrose University.[9]

The Congregation of the Humility of Mary founded two schools in the diocese. The first school was established at their motherhouse when it was in Ottumwa. Founded as Visitation Academy in 1864, it had several name changes until 1930 when it was named Ottumwa Heights College. Ottumwa Heights merged with Indian Hills Community College, a part of the state of Iowa's community college system, in 1979 and has been officially inactive since 1980. The community's former motherhouse and college property has been IHCC's main campus since 1981.[10]

The Sisters of Humility also founded Marycrest College in Davenport as the woman's division of St. Ambrose in 1939. By the 1950s it had become a separate institution, and it started admitting men in 1969. The school, however, started to decline in enrollment as well as financially. In 1990, Marycrest became affiliated with the Teikyo Yamanashi Education and Welfare Foundation of Japan and was renamed Teikyo Marycrest University. In 1996 the institution's name was changed to Marycrest International University in an attempt to reflect its global mission. However, enrollment continued to decline. financial difficulties persisted, and the school closed in 2002.[11] The campus continues intact and in 2006 it became Marycrest Senior Campus, a residential facility for senior citizens.[12] It has no affiliation with the diocese.

Mount Saint Clare, c. 1920

The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi established Mt. St. Claire College for women in 1918 in Clinton. The college began offering graduate courses over the internet in 2002 and changed its name to The Franciscan University. In 2004, the school modified its name to The Franciscan University of the Prairies, so as to avoid confusion with similarly named institutions. In 2005, the school was purchased by Bridgepoint Education, Inc. and the sisters ended their sponsorship. The school became known as Ashford University and closed in 2016.[13]

Since 1947 the diocese has supported a dedicated campus ministry program at the Newman Catholic Student Center at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

The coat of arms for the Diocese of Davenport was designed after the arms used by members of the Davenport family in England. The family's arms are described as, "Argent (white or silver), a chevron sable (black) between three cross crosslets fitchée of the second."[14] The diocesan shield maintains the use of the silver color and the black cross crosslets fitchée. The black chevron is replaced with a black crenellated tower.

The following structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Some of the structures are no longer part of the diocese but are listed here because of their historical significance to the church.

Name[30]	Image	Year	Location	Style	Architect	Notes
Church of All Saints, Keokuk		1879–1885	301 S. 9th Street Keokuk 40°23′50″N 91°23′25″W	Gothic Revival	William John Dillenburg	Built as St. Peter's Church and became the Church of All Saints when the three Keokuk parishes consoloidated into one parish in 1982.
Ambrose Hall		1885	518 W. Locust Street Davenport 41°32′20″N 90°34′51″W	Second Empire	Victor Huot	Administrative building at Saint Ambrose University.
Democrat Building		1923	407-411 Brady Street Davenport 41°31′26″N 90°34′26″W	Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements	Rudolph J.Clausen	Owned by The Catholic Messenger in the mid 20th century and housed the paper's headquarters, newsroom and printing operations.
Henry Kahl House		1920	1101 W. 9th Street Davenport 41°31′41″N 90°35′18″W	Mission Revival Spanish Revival	Arthur Ebeling	Part of what was the Kahl Home for the Aged and Infirm, operated by the Carmelite Sisters.
Antoine LeClaire House		1855	630 E. 7th Street Davenport 41°31′37″N 90°33′54″W	Italianate		Antoine LeClaire was instrumental in establishing St. Anthony's and the Cathedral parishes in Davenport. The house became the residence of Bishops McMullen and Cosgrove (1881–1906).
F.H. Miller House		1871	1527 Brady Street Davenport 41°32′9″N 90°34′26″W	Italianate	W.L. Carroll	Residence of Bishops Davis and Rohlman and the Novitiate for the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi of Clinton. The building is currently owned by Saint Ambrose University.
Regina Coeli Monastery		1916	1401 Central Avenue Bettendorf 41°31′51″N 90°30′45″W	Mission Revival Spanish Revival Romanesque Revival Late Gothic Revival	Arthur Ebeling	The building housed the Carmelite Nuns from 1916–1975, and was later a residence for a community of Franciscan Brothers. It became a four star hotel and is now a drug and alcohol rehab facility called The Abbey.
Marycrest College Historic District		1938	Portions of the 1500 and 1600 blocks of W. 12th Street, Davenport 41°31′48″N 90°35′52″W	Queen Anne, others	Multiple	The campus of the former Marycrest College. Included is the former Petersen Mansion.
Sacred Heart Cathedral		1891	406 and 422 E. 10th Street and 419 E. 11th Street, Davenport 41°31′49″N 90°34′8″W	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Gothic Revival, Tudor Gothic	James J. Egan	The designation includes the cathedral church, rectory and the former convent.
St. Anthony's Church, Davenport		Original church: 1838 Present church: 1853	407 and 417 Main Street Davenport 41°31′26″N 90°34′31″W	Greek Revival	Multiple	First parish established in the Diocese of Davenport. Its original building is still in use on the church property and is the oldest church building in use in Iowa. The NRHP designation includes both the original and current church.
St. Boniface Church, Clinton		1908	2500 N. Pershing Blvd Clinton 41°52′27″N 90°10′50″W	Gothic Revival	Martin Heer	Former parish of the diocese. Merged with the other four Clinton parishes in 1990 to form Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace. The parish continued to use the building until 2007. St. Boniface now houses The Catholic Historical Center at St. Boniface.
St. Irenaeus Church, Clinton		1871	2811 N. 2nd Street Clinton 41°52′42″N 90°10′39″W	Gothic Revival	W.W. Sanborn	Former parish of the diocese. Merged with the other four Clinton parishes in 1990 to form Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace. The parish continued to use the building until 2008 when they built a new church. St. Irenaeus is now vacant.
Church of St. John the Baptist, Burlington		1885	712 Division Street Burlington 40°48′28″N 91°6′31″W	Gothic Revival	William John Dillenburg	Part of Divine Mercy parish after all of the Burlington-area parishes consolidated in 2017.
St. Joseph's Church, Bauer		1876	1 mile east of the junction of County Road G76 and SE. 97th Street (Marion County) 41°12′12″N 93°18′29″W	Romanesque Revival, Late Gothic Revival		Part of a historic district that also includes the cemetery. The parish was closed in the 1990s.
St. Joseph's Church, Davenport		1883	Marquette and 6th Street Davenport 41°31′33″N 90°35′24″W	Gothic Revival	Victor Hout	Former parish church of the diocese and now part of an Evangelical Christian outreach ministry.
St. Joseph's Church, Fort Madison		1886	509 Avenue F Fort Madison 40°37′54.03″N 91°18′24.2″W	Gothic Revival		Former parish church of the diocese and now a wedding chapel. The former church, rectory, convent and school are contributing properties in an historic district.
St. Joseph Hospital		1925	312 E. Alta Vista & 317 Vanness Aves. Ottumwa 41°02′13.83″N 92°23′56.84″W			Former hospital campus operated of the Sisters of Humility.
St. Mary's Academy		1888	1334 W. 8th Street Davenport 41°31′40″N 90°35′38″W	Romanesque Revival		Former school building for St. Mary's parish. It became a residence for clergy who taught at St. Ambrose Academy and later Assumption High School. It is no longer owned by the diocese.
St. Mary's Church, Davenport		1885	516, 519, 522, and 525 Fillmore Street Davenport 41°31′30″N 90°35′39″W	Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival	Victor Hout, Clause & Burrows	The NRHP designation includes the church, rectory, convent, and school building.
St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Fort Madison		1871	1031 Avenue E Fort Madison 40°38′0″N 91°19′0″W	Gothic Revival	Walch & Schmidt	The church building is now part of Holy Family parish, which is a merger between St. Joseph's, St. Mary's and Sacred Heart Churches in Fort Madison.
St. Mary's Church, Iowa City		1867	220 E. Jefferson Street Iowa City 41°39′46″N 91°31′54″W	Romanesque Revival		The NRHP designation includes the church and rectory.
Old St. Mary's Rectory, Iowa City		1854	610 E. Jefferson Street Iowa City 41°39′48″N 91°31′54″W	Greek Revival		Original frame rectory for St. Mary's parish in Iowa City. It was moved to its present location when the current rectory was built. It is a private residence today.
St. Mary's Church, Riverside		1907	St. Mary's and Washburn Streets, Riverside 41°29′0″N 91°34′54″W	Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival	Multiple	The church complex forms a historic district on the NRHP which includes the church, rectory, original church and former school building.
St. Michael's Church, Holbrook		1867	On County Road F 52, East of Parnell 41°35′24″N 91°54′48″W	Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival	Multiple	The church complex forms a historic district on the NRHP that includes the church, cemetery, rectory and Ancient Order of Hibernians Hall. The parish was closed in the 1990s.
St. Patrick's Church, Georgetown		1912	U.S. Route 34 west of Albia, Georgetown, Iowa 41°0′48″N 92°57′20″W	Gothic Revival	Rev. Timothy Clifford
St. Paul's Church, Burlington		1895	508 N. 4th St. Burlington 40°48′43.32″N 91°6′10.11″W	Gothic Revival	James J. Egan	Part of Divine Mercy parish after all of the Burlington-area parishes consolidated in 2017.
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Clear Creek		1898	Southeast of Harper 41°18′19″N 92°0′20″W	Gothic Revival	Ferdinand S. Borgolte	The parish was merged with St. Elizabeth in Harper and St. Mary's in Keota to form Holy Trinity parish in 1992. In 2006 the last Mass was celebrated in the church and in 2009 it was sold to the Sts. Peter and Paul Heritage Association.
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Solon		1916	1165 NE. Taft Avenue Solon 41°50′57″N 91°27′49″W	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals	R. K. Parkinson	The parish was closed in 1996 when it consolidated with St. Mary's in Solon. It is currently owned by a private foundation that maintains the facility.[31]
St. Thomas More Parish Center		1929	108 McLean St. Iowa City 41°40′09.9″N 91°32′30″W	Tudor Revival	Myron Edwards Pugh	Built as Sigma Pi Fraternity House in 1929, the building served as the first Catholic Student Center and Newman Club at the University of Iowa. It continued to serve St. Thomas More parish after the Newman Center moved in 1969. The parish moved to Coralville in 2009 and the building was converted into apartments.
Selma Schricker House		1902	1430 Clay Street Davenport 41°31′49.89″N 90°35′41.77″W	Georgian Revival	Clausen & Clausen	The house served as the residence of Bishops Rohlman, Hayes, O'Keefe and Franklin.

• Pacem in Terris Award

Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article Davenport.

• Official website
• The Catholic Messenger