With a long waiting list of clients and an overcrowded clinic space, Abbie Gacke started brainstorming how to provide children and families with the speech and language therapy they need while retaining her current office building. Gacke, owner of Childworks Therapy Clinic in Sioux City, said she opened the business in 2021 and has outgrown two locations since then and is currently at maximum capacity. She contacted Dr. John Flanery, president of Sioux City Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools with an idea.

A young Our Lady of the Plains parishioner has turned her knack for jewelry making into a rosary repair service and rosary making business. “I was given a kit to make earrings when I was about 12,” said Kathleen Hildreth, a 14-year-old from Manson/Twin Lakes who will be a freshman at Manson-Northwest Webster Community School this fall.

The diocesan Office of Vocations is offering the Quo Vadis discernment retreat for young men Aug. 1 to 3 at Camp Okoboji. Diocesan seminarians will lead the retreat under the direction of Father Travis Crotty, vocations director, and Father Shane Deman, director of seminarians.

Pope Leo XIV has named Father Thomas J. Hennen of the Diocese of Davenport as Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Baker in Oregon on July 10.

St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids reached a major milestone June 27 in their journey to fully combine, one that their presidents believe serves as a model for Catholic higher education. The two universities are located about 85 miles apart in eastern Iowa.

Bishop John Keehner recently accepted a new seminarian - by way of Minnesota. William Kahle of Algona spent a discernment year at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (IHM) as a seminarian for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. The Divine Mercy parishioner will begin his second year at IHM as a seminarian this fall, but as a seminarian for the Diocese of Sioux City.

Lumen Media, the news and communications office of the Diocese of Sioux City, took home three awards at the June 27 Catholic Media Association Conference awards ceremony held in Phoenix, Arizona. The content appeared in The Lumen and on the digital Lumen Media platforms.

People are anxious about many things these days. When a person does not stay in a primary dependence upon God, it becomes clear quickly that any other dependency outside of God will lead to insecurity and an apprehensiveness that can take on a life of its own. Perhaps the most common dependency that people use to replace their dependence upon God is found in materialism. There is a reflection of this in the fall in the garden. Up until the time of the fall, Adam and Eve were happily and unselfconsciously dependent upon God.

In late May, it was announced that a letter of intent was signed by the two hospitals in Sioux City for UnityPoint Health to acquire MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center. If that acquisition comes to fruition, it will mark an end of an era for Catholic hospitals in the city that has served numerous communities in the tri-state area. The roots of MercyOne Siouxland date back to 1890 when the Sisters of Mercy were asked to establish a hospital in Sioux City. For the last 135 years, the community has been served by at least one Catholic hospital.

Newly-accepted seminarian, Joseph Masching of St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll, said he began to seriously consider the seminary as early as eighth grade as a student in Kuemper Catholic Schools. “Because I was preparing to go into high school soon – in my freshman year, it was on the back burner. It wasn’t that important,” the 2025 Kuemper graduate said, noting he also contemplated a career in science or animal science at that time.

The first of three Masses of Welcome for Bishop John E. Keehner was held June 24 at Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County. One Mass in each of the three diocesan deaneries were scheduled in order to give the faithful of the diocese a chance to meet their new shepherd. “Brothers and sisters, on this feast of St. John the Baptist, my patron, we gather together to celebrate the Eucharist,” the bishop said in opening remarks.

What is it about the finest gifts that makes so many folks put them away “for good?’ Picture Grandma’s best china stored away out of sight, lest a little one chip a plate. Or what about that fancy watch your dad wore every Sunday, tucked away in a drawer, never to see the light of day again? Gifts are meant to be used, enjoyed, savored until every plate is broken or the last tick of the watch runs out.

Several parishes in the Diocese of Sioux City held eucharistic processions on June 22 for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, which was previously called Feast of Corpus Christi.

"There is no faraway conflict when human dignity is at stake," Pope Leo XIV told thousands of people gathered at the Vatican for the midday recitation of the Angelus after the United States bombed targets in Iran.

(bilingual) “As your shepherds, your fear echoes in our hearts and we make your pain our own. Count on the commitment of all of us to stand with you in this challenging hour,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “Como pastores suyos, sus temores hacen eco en nuestro corazón y sentimos su dolor como nuestro. Cuenten con el compromiso de todos nosotros de acompañarlos en estos momentos difíciles”, aseguró el arzobispo Timothy P. Broglio, presidente de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB, por su sigla en inglés).

After seeing a need for middle and high schoolers to gather during the summer, Ascension Parish initiated Summer Wednesdays. “The idea was born out of a few different things,” said Megan Ulrich, director of religious education (DRE) at Ascension Parish for the churches in Boone and Ogden.

As a young boy the thought of becoming a priest when he grew up was definitely on Avery Fetrow’s mind. “The earliest I remember thinking about the priesthood was when I was 5 or 6,” said the 2024 graduate of St. Mary High School in Storm Lake and member of his parish Knights of Columbus. “That is all I wanted to be from age 6 to 12.”

(bilingual) After serving 12 years as the only Yankton Benedictine in the Diocese of Sioux City, Sister Jodie Zimmerman, OSB, will be moving to her community’s monastery at the end of the month. She has been serving in pastoral ministry and religious education for Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Rock Valley St. Mary Church. Después de haber servido durante 12 años como la única benedictina de Yankton en la Diócesis de Sioux City, la hermana Jodie Zimmerman, OSB, se trasladará al monasterio de su comunidad a finales de este mes. Ha trabajado en el ministerio pastoral y en la educación religiosa en la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y en la Iglesia de Santa María en Rock Valley.

Novena will begin June 19 — the anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s anniversary to the priesthood — and end June 27, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

The Most Reverend John E. Keehner, Bishop of Sioux City, hereby announces the following appointment, effective July 8, 2025: Reverend Jacob R. Rosenmeyer, is appointed as parochial vicar at Holy Trinity Parish in Fort Dodge and St. Mary Parish in Humboldt, with residence in Fort Dodge. In addition, he is assigned as chaplain of St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge.