Jerome Hanus

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Archbishop Jerome George Hanus, OSB (born May 26, 1940) is a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and the current Archbishop of Dubuque. He became Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa on October 27, 1994, and succeeded Archbishop Daniel Kucera on October 16, 1995.

Archbishop Hanus was born in Brainard, Nebraska. Shortly after his 21st birthday, on September 1, 1961, Hanus became a monk in the Order of Saint Benedict at Conception Abbey, in Conception, Missouri. About four years later Hanus then was ordained a Priest on July 30, 1966. On January 5, 1977 he was elected the sixth Abbot of Conception Abbey, and he received his blessing for that office the next day.

On July 6, 1987, Fr. Hanus was appointed the next Bishop of the Saint Cloud, Minnesota Diocese. He was formally ordained as the Bishop on August 24, 1987. He served in that post for a little over seven years. In 1994, then Archbishop Daniel Kucera, who within five years would reach the mandatory retirement age, requested a coadjutor Archbishop to serve alongside him and eventually become his successor.

On August 23, 1994, the Vatican appointed Bishop Hanus as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque. Archbishop Hanus was installed on October 27, 1994. He spent the next year becoming acquainted with the people and institutions that made up the Archdiocese. After one year, Archbishop Kucera decided to retire. When Kucera's request was approved by the Vatican, Archbishop Hanus automatically succeeded him as Archbishop of Dubuque.

Archbishop Hanus has had to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the church in recent times. Soon after he became Archbishop, a Dubuque area priest had been found to have abused a number of boys while working at Saint Columbkille's church in Dubuque. He has also had to deal with sexual abuse cases which involved a number of priests, both living and deceased. In February of 2006 he, along with Bishop Charron of Des Moines and Bishop Franklin of Davenport, met with victim's advocate groups. (Sioux City Bishop Nickless was scheduled to attend but his mother died just before the meeting.) Then on February 21, 2006 the Archdiocese settled a number of claims, and the Archbishop offered a personal apology.

The priest shortage has also been a major concern during the Archbishop's tenure. Because of these shortages, Hanus has had to combine and close a number of rural parishes.

The Archbishop presided over his first consecration of another Bishop on January 20, 2006. On this date he was the principal consecrater of R. Walker Nickless - who was chosen as the new Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa in November of 2005.

Episcopal Lineage
Consecrated by:	John Roach
Date of consecration:	August 24, 1987
Consecrator of
Bishop	Date of consecration
R. Walker Nickless	January 20, 2006

Preceded by George Speltz	Bishop of Saint Cloud 1987–1994	Succeeded by John Kinney
Preceded by Daniel Kucera	Archbishop of Dubuque 1995 – present	Incumbent