Hall of Fame
Martin, a native of Dorchester, Iowa served in the Navy during Wold War I and graduated in 1926 from Columbia College, which changed its name in 1938 to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He studied theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland and St. Paul's Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained into the priesthood on June 14, 1930 at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa. Father Martin served briefly as an associate pastor at St. Cecelia's Catholic Church in Ames, Iowa before returning to Dubuque, Iowa in October 1930 where he remained until his death.
After a two year stint as associate pastor at St. Raphael's, Martin taught from 1932 to 1939 at Columbia Academy, the high school affiliated with Columbia College (present day Loras College). He was named the president of Columbia College in 1936 and president of the renamed Loras College in March 1939. Father Martin was named a monsignor in 1946 and retired as college president of Loras College in 1947. He served two years as pastor at Sacred Heart parish in Fillmore, south of Dubuque, Iowa, then in November of 1949 he organized and helped build St. Joseph's parish church and school in Dubuque. He retired in October 1969.
As president of Loras College, Martin brought in a Navy training program to boost enrollment during World War II and was influential in having the Dubuque airport moved from an often-flooded island on the Mississippi River to its current location south of the city. "During World War II, there was a steel shortage and Monsignor Martin made a trip to Washington D.C. to get steel to help complete the building of a bridge across the Mississippi River," said the Rev. Tom Ralph of the Archdiocese of Dubuque Center. During his final years, Martin lived in a private home in St. Joseph's parish.
