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 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.[5]
Loras Lane died at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago on July 22, 1968, at age 57.[4] 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
^ abCurtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
^ abcGallagher, 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)
