During the early 1940s, Archbishop Francis Beckman of Dubuque had involved the archdiocese in a dubious financial scheme. Beckman had been talked into investing borrowed money in gold mines with the idea that the profits could be used to further an art collection he had established at Columbia College. However, the scheme was soon revealed to be a fraud, and the man behind the scheme was arrested. Because Beckman had signed loans in the archdiocese's name, it led to financial difficulties for the archdiocese when the holders of the notes began demanding repayment. Because of the financial problems surrounding Beckman, Bishop Rohlman was transferred to Dubuque by Pope Pius XII and named Titular Archbishop of "Macra" and Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque. It was made clear to Beckman that while he retained the title "Archbishop of Dubuque", Rohlman was now the leader of the archdiocese. On November 11, 1946, Archbishop Beckman retired from office and left Dubuque. Rohlman automatically became the seventh bishop and fifth archbishop of Dubuque.