MONSIGNOR JAMES P. FINUCAN PAPERS
Scope and Content
Correspondence and other documents, primarily of Monsignor James P. Finucan of the La Crosse Diocese, from his undergraduate years at Loras College, 1942-1944, but mostly from his travels and stay in Rome during the Second Vatican Council as Secretary to the Most Rev. John P. Treacy (Bishop of the La Crosse Diocese August 25, 1948-October 11, 1964) in 1962-1963. The collection also includes the 1959-1963 correspondence of his brother, Rev. J. Thomas Finucan, a teacher at Catholic high schools in Wisconsin Rapids, and Wausau, Wisconsin, who was pursuing graduate studies in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Finally, the collection includes fragmented correspondence between other Finucan family members, the bulk dating 1959-1963.
Biographical Note
JAMES P. FINUCAN was born on October 1, 1923, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Edwin and Isabel Finucan. He attended Loras College and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained on March 22, 1947, at St. Joseph Cathedral in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Rev. Finucan’s first assignment in 1947 was as Secretary to Bishop John P. Treacy. In 1954 he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the La Crosse Diocese. In 1956 he was named Papal Chamberlain to His Holiness Pope Pius XII, with the title Monsignor, and was invested by the Most Rev. John P. Treacy in December of 1956. Monsignor Finucan was appointed as Chancellor of the Diocese on April 6, 1960. Monsignor Finucan later accompanied Bishop John P. Treacy to the Second Vatican Council, opened under Pope John XXIII on October 11, 1962.
In June of 1965 Monsignor Finucan was appointed as Pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Following several other pastoral appointments, Monsignor Finucan was released to pursue graduate studies at the Divine Word Centre in London, Ontario, Canada. Between 1978 and 1988 Monsignor Finucan served additional pastoral appointments in Eastman, Eau Claire, and Cooks Valley, Wisconsin. During his retirement he resided at Holy Cross Diocesan Center, finally moving to Saint James Rehabilitation Center in La Crosse.
