Name Louis Kucera | Died 1957 | |
Education Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity | ||
Louis Benedict Kucera (August 24, 1888 – May 9, 1957) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lincoln from 1930 until his death in 1957.
Biography
Louis Kucera was born in Wheatland, Minnesota, to John Wenceslaus and Mary (née Skluzacek) Kucera, who were Bohemian immigrants. He attended St. John's College before studying at the College of St. Thomas. After his graduation in 1909, he was offered admission to West Point but declined, choosing instead to study for the priesthood. He entered St. Paul Seminary, and was later ordained on June 8, 1915 by Archbishop John Ireland. He then served as a curate at St. Patrick's Church in Tama, Iowa, until 1916, when he became professor of Latin and prefect of discipline at Columbia College in Dubuque. In 1925 he was named pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Protivin.
On June 30, 1930, Kucera was appointed the fifth Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 28 from Archbishop Francis Beckman, with Bishops Thomas William Drumm and Henry Rohlman serving as co-consecrators. He was also named an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne and in 1955 a Count of the Apostolic Palace. He served as bishop for twenty-six years, until his death at age 68.