Families in the Spencer area who are affiliated with Sacred Heart School and Parish, once again have the opportunity for their children to participate in the Sacred Heart Summer Care Program that fulfills a big need – summer childcare with numerous activities to keep boredom at bay and a means to stay connected to other students.

LUMEN MEDIA report - Bishop John E. Keehner presided at the noon Mass for Pope Leo XIV at Cathedral of the Epiphany on May 12 in Sioux City. During the homily, the bishop mentioned that the Gospel, John 10:1-10, like that of the Sunday reading, focused on the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. In Pope Leo’s first homily as pontiff that he offered in the presence of the College of Cardinals who had elected him pope, Bishop Keehner said the Holy Father asked the cardinals to reflect on the marvels and blessings of the Lord.

Our Lady of Good Counsel CDA Court 216, Fort Dodge recently awarded scholarships to St. Edmond Catholic School graduating seniors.

The Archdiocese of Dubuque will host a rare cross-country pilgrimage coming to Iowa this Memorial Day weekend. Deacon Brian Zeman, who is helping coordinate the pilgrimage as it passes through the archdiocese, said he believes the pilgrimage will offer local Catholics a unique opportunity to celebrate their faith and draw closer to Jesus in the Eucharist. "There has never been anything like this before in our archdiocese,” Deacon Zeman said, “and it is likely there never will be again."

The FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa awarded a MicroGrant to Pocahontas Catholic School for their faculty and staff’s participation in the TEACH TO HEAL training program.

Diocesan Catholic school educators from Sioux City, Carroll and LeMars attended the recent Inclusion in Action Conference in Kansas City, funded by grants from the FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa. Schools included Bishop Heelan High School, Cathedral Dual Language Academy, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart schools in Sioux City and Gehlen Catholic of LeMars and Kuemper Catholic of Carroll.

Each graduate from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Rock Valley St. Mary, received a Bible and Rosary from Court of St. Anne, Catholic Daughters of the Americas.

Briar Cliff University hosted its 94th commencement ceremony on May 10, at the Sioux City Orpheum Theater. The ceremony honored the university’s 2025 candidates for undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees.

The Carroll County Youth Behavioral Health Consortium, led by Compass Healthcare Collaborative, is comprised of 12 organizations working together to recognize May as Mental Health Awareness Month. This annual observance raises awareness about mental health, reduces stigma and promotes wellness for individuals of all ages.

Father Paul Nguyen, pastor of St. Sebastian Parish based in Pocahontas, was the primary honoree at the May 5 annual jubilee Mass at Storm Lake St. Mary Church. The priest celebrates his 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination this year. Eighteen retired priests celebrating their 50th through 67th ordination anniversaries were also acknowledged. Celebrating his first jubilee Mass in the diocese, Bishop John E. Keehner offered the homily and thanked the priests and deacons for their dedication to the church and to their ministry.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Where Christians are "mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied" is where the Catholic Church's "missionary outreach is most desperately needed," Pope Leo XIV said in his first homily as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Today, "there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent, settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure," the new pope told cardinals May 9 during Mass in the Sistine Chapel.

As the final days of high school tick down, one senior at Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City reflected on how happy he is his parents – now both deceased - chose a Catholic education for him. Ronnie Vedin, a senior at Bishop Heelan who has been a part of the school system since he was in kindergarten, has witnessed through the years how the school family has rallied around those with struggles big and small.

LUMEN MEDIA REPORT – Just one week after the episcopal ordination of Bishop John E. Keehner as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, on May 8 Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope. The cardinal,69, selected the name Leo XIV. When news outlets announced that white smoke was spotted from the rooftop of the Sistine Chapel, indicating that a new pope had been selected, Bishop Keehner sent a message to all diocesan parishes to ring their bells for five minutes and once the new pope was named he asked that the bells be rung for another five minutes.

As Cardinal Robert Prevost’s name was announced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary jumped from their seats with an explosion of cheers when they realized that a pope from North America had been chosen. Dozens of seminary faculty and students gathered in the Father Emil Kapaun Student Center on May 8 to watch coverage of the papal announcement. Some seminarians were in the midst of finals as Pope Leo XIV was introduced to the tens of thousands cheering in St. Peter’s Square. Seminarians later gathered in the chapel to sing the Te Deum for the new pontiff.

(bilingual) Statement in English and Spanish upon the selection of Pope Leo XIV - first American-born Holy Father - from Bishop John E. Keehner.

Catholic News Service: A native of Chicago and Augustinian missionary who worked for years in Peru, the new Pope Leo XIV had been working at the Vatican as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under the late Pope Francis.

Iowa Catholic Daughters of the Americas held their 56th Biennial CDA State Convention in Sioux City April 25 to 27. In addition to the more than 200 CDA members from across the state, the Past National Regent Sherry Nilles of Sheldon was present as was the National Regent-Elect Essie Walker of Matthews, North Carolina.