[1] After his return to Cincinnati, Beckman joined the faculty of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, where he served as professor of philosophy and dogmatic theology (1908–1912).

He started with a small collection of artifacts belonging to Father William Kessler at Columbia Academy in Dubuque.

The Beckman collection, including works of Winslow Homer, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck, was valued at $1.5 million.

[3] In 1936, promoter Phillip Suetter sold Beckman on the idea of investing borrowed money in gold mines.

As a result of all of Beckman's problems, on June 15, 1944, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Henry Rohlman of Davenport as coadjutor archbishop and apostolic administrator.

Francis Beckman died at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on October 17, 1948, at age 72.

He made headlines when he spoke before the National Council of Catholic Women in October and openly denounced it as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away the moral fiber of young people" which would lead one down a "primrose path to Hell.

[5] He wrote an open letter to Senator William Borah of Idaho encouraging him in his efforts to maintain American neutrality.

At a rally on October 20, 1939, Beckman supported noted radio priest Father Charles Coughlin in his stand for peace.