and Seminary (1850 – 1873)
St. Joseph's College (1873 – 1914)
Dubuque College (1914 – 1920)
Columbia College (1920 – 1939)
Loras College (1920 – present)
=== Saint Raphael/St. Bernard College ===
In 1839, Bishop Mathias Loras of the Diocese of Dubuque established Saint Raphael's Seminary for men in the back of Saint Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque. His first students were four seminarians from France, two members of a Sioux tribe, and several local students. In 1850, Loras moved the seminary from downtown Dubuque to a more rural area in the city. He wanted fewer distractions for the students and farmland to grow food for the college. It was renamed Mount St. Bernard's College and Seminary. The first present of St. Bernard was Father Joseph Cretin, who later became the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul. Loras became president of the college in 1855.
=== St. Joseph College ===
The financial Panic of 1857 caused severe financial losses at St. Bernard, forcing it to close in 1860. When John Hennessy became …
