Henry Cosgrove

Henry Cosgrove was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on December 19, 1834, to John and Bridget Cosgrove, both Irish immigrants The family moved to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and then to Dubuque, Iowa, in 1845. He studied with Reverend Joseph Cretin, then vicar general of the Diocese of Dubuque, Cosgrove then attended St. Mary's Seminary in Perry County, Missouri, for the classics, and the seminary at Carondelet, Missouri, for theology.[1][2][3]

Cosgrove was ordained a priest by Bishop Clement Smyth on August 27, 1857, for the Diocese of Dubuque. After his ordination, Cosgrove was assigned as an assistant pastor at St. Margaret's Parish in Davenport. He became pastor there in 1861.[3]

On May 2, 1873, an arsonist set a fire on the altar in St. Margaret's Church. During the confusion, Cosgrove took a blow to the head after running into a doorway. The fire damage was confined to the altar and the arsonist was never apprehended.[4]

In the early morning of March 31, 1878, three men broke into St. Margaret's Church. Their goal was to steal the collection from the Forty Hours' Devotion that was collected in the previous service. During the break in, one man shot at Cosgrove while he was in bed, missing him. The burglars fled the church without the collection. A $3,000 reward was offered for their capture. All three men were ultimately arrested, convicted and sent to Anamosa State Penitentiary in Anamosa, Iowa.[4]

In 1881, Pope Leo XIII split the Diocese of Dubuque, creating a new Diocese of Davenport with Reverend John McMullen as its first bishop. Cosgrove was incardinated, or transferred, to the new diocese on June 4, 1881. St. Margaret's was elevated to a cathedral and Cosgrove became the cathedral's rector. McMullen named him as the first vicar general of the diocese.

After the death of Bishop McMullen on July 4, 1883, the Vatican named Cosgrove as the diocesan administration. When the diocese sent a list of possible candidates for bishop to the Vatican, Cosgrove's name, despite being vicar general, was missing. This omission was allegedly the work of priests from Des Moines, Iowa, who still wanted it to be the see city instead of Davenport. However, after Cosgrove's supporters learned of this maneuver, they persuaded the Vatican to wait on an appointment until it received a petition from the clergy that favored Cosgrove.[5]

Bishop Cosgrove built Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport.

Cosgrove was appointed the second bishop of Davenport on July 11, 1884, by Pope Leo XIII, and was consecrated in St. Margaret's Cathedral on September 14, 1884, by Archbishop Patrick Feehan of Chicago. [2][3] Bishops John Hennessy of Dubuque and James O'Connor, the Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska, were the principal co-consecrators.[6]

Cosgrove was a friend of Archbishop John Ireland and was aligned with the more progressive wing of the American hierarchy. While the diocese had no newspaper at the time, the periodical Iowa Orphan's Friend reported on Cosgrove's activities and published his pastoral letters. It was sort of a "house organ" for the bishop.[7]

In 1884 Cosgrove attended the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, which established the Baltimore Catechism. Deciding that St. Margaret's was no longer adequate as cathedral functions, Cosgrove constructed Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1891 to replace it. Cosgrove established St. Vincent's Home for orphans in 1895 in Davenport by the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1896.[8][9][3]

Cosgrove supported the national Temperance Movement and called for a moral crusade in the diocese, especially in Davenport. In 1903 he was quoted in the national media calling Davenport "the wicked city of its size in America" because of its notorious Bucktown District, an area of speakeasies and brothels that was close to St. Margaret's.[10]

On October 7, 1904, at Cosgrove's request, Pope Pius X named Reverend James J. Davis as coadjutor bishop of the diocese.[11] Cosgrove presided over the diocese's second synod the same year

Bishop Cosgrove's grave

Cosgrove Hall at St. Ambrose University

Henry Cosgrove died of cancer on December 23, 1906, in Davenport at age 72.[2] After his funeral, Cosgrove was interred in the cathedral crypt. His remains were later moved to Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Davenport when the diocese abandoned the crypt.

Cosgrove was the first native born bishop of the United States appointed to a see west of the Mississippi River. Cosgrove Hall, a residence hall at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, is named in his honor.