HOFFMANN, Mathias M. Rt. Rev.

Photo courtesy: Bill Thayer

HOFFMANN, Mathias M. Rt. Rev. (Dubuque, IA, Jan. 7, 1889--Dyersville, IA, Jan. 19, 1961). "Father Matt." Hoffmann, the only Iowa priest in WORLD WAR I to see service in the trenches, graduated from ST. JOSEPH COLLEGE now LORAS COLLEGE in 1909 and entered St. Paul Seminary. He received his S.T.B. from Catholic University in 1913 and was ordained on June 10, 1913. He returned to Dyersville where he served as an assistant at St. Francis Xavier Church. He remained there until 1917 when he joined the United States Army as a chaplain. (1)

Hoffmann accompanied the Texas Ranger First Division to Europe and participated in many of the most important campaigns of WORLD WAR I. He was awarded the Victory Medal, French Verdun Medal, Saint-Mihiel Medal, and a special regimental citation for working under fire during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel on December 12, 1918. Following the war, he remained in Europe with the staff of General Pershing. Returning to the United States, Hoffmann received one of the rare Pershing Medals. He left the army with the rank of first lieutenant and went to England to study at Oxford University. (2)

Hoffmann returned to the United States in 1919 and joined the faculty of Loras College where he remained for the next twenty-two years. He chaired the Economics Department after receiving his master's degree from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Speaking English, French, German, Italian, Luxemburg, and Spanish, Hoffman was caught in Europe at the outbreak of WORLD WAR II and had some difficulty returning to the United States. (3)

Returning to Dubuque, Hoffmann resigned his position at Loras and rejoined the Army as a chaplain. In 1922 he appeared before the examining board for examination for promotion to the rank of captain. (4) By the end of World War II, he had received the rank of colonel that he retained in the United States Army Reserves.

Retiring from active service in 1945, Hoffmann was appointed pastor at St. Francis Xavier parish. While serving in Dyersville, he directed the construction of a new high school, parish hall, and gymnasium for the parish. He was also there when the parish was elevated to the rank of a basilica. (5)

Hoffmann served as the Chaplain General of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. He headed the Labor Forum in Dubuque and participated in the arbitration of the JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS strike in 1950. (6)

An active writer and historian, Hoffmann wrote Antique Dubuque 1673-1833, Centennial History of the Archdiocese of Dubuque (1837-1937), Church Founders of the Northwest, Catholic Sponsors of Iowa, The Story of Loras College, and Young and Fair is Iowa. He served as president of the Iowa Historical Society and the DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY and was the State of Iowa chaplain for the American Legion. (7)

In 1938 Hoffmann was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Loras. He was made Domestic Prelate by Pope Pius XII in 1948 because of his service as an army chaplain in both world wars. (8) In 1960 the Dyersville library was named the Mathias M. Hoffmann Public Library in his honor. (9)

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Source:

1. Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2008

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. "Military Board to Convene Here," Dubuque-Telegraph Herald, March 27, 1922, p. 8

5. Hudson

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8/ "Three Priests Are Made Monsignor," Telegraph-Herald, July 29, 1948, p. 17

8. Hudson