The Diocese of Sioux City Catholic Schools Office is reminding Catholic school parents of the June 30 deadline for applying for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) funding.

Bishop John E. Keehner conferred holy orders upon two seminarians Saturday morning at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. James “Jimmy” Fitzsimmons of Cathedral Parish in Sioux City and Garrett Hugeback of St. Joseph Parish in Wall Lake were ordained to the transitional diaconate. Both are seminarians studying at Kenrick Glennon Seminary outside of St. Louis.

A native son of the Diocese of Sioux City was ordained a priest June 6 for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Father Alex Solsma, a 2007 graduate of Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City, was one of seven transitional deacons to be ordained to the priesthood at Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.

Zachariah Steffens of St. Mary Parish, Spirit Lake, declared his candidacy for the priesthood today to Bishop John E. Keehner during a Mass at the Cathedral of the Epiphany. He had been attending Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota, and will attend the North American College in Rome this fall.

Last October, the Carroll Kuemper Catholic School system announced their first major facility expansion project in over 70 years. The $30 million uKnighted: Building a Future in Faith construction project is now underway. The keystone of the project is the 50,000 square foot, three-story addition to the elementary school with 26 classrooms, chapel and other rooms.

About 10 months after Bishop Garrigan Schools in Algona announced proposed plans for a $9 million capital campaign to fund a grade school addition and other projects, the school is beginning to see their plans become a reality as a groundbreaking ceremony was held May 27. According to Christy Peterson, president of Bishop Garrigan, the groundbreaking represented a proud moment in the school’s history as it is thriving and growing. “It’s always exciting to see a goal come to life,” she said.

When parishioners and families attended the Memorial Mass on May 25 held at Calvary Cemetery in Milford, they had the opportunity to view updates that have been made over the last year and participate in a rededication ceremony. Father Zach Jones, a native son of the parish, celebrated the Mass with Father David Hemann, current pastor, and Father Travis Crotty concelebrating. Chris Jones, a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish in Milford, headed up the project with the help of his siblings and Lynn Moritz, the cemetery sexton.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion – the first and only approved Marian apparition site in the U.S. – is hosting the Catholic Saints of America exhibit July 1-9, 2026, to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. This first-of-its-kind Carlo Acutis-inspired exhibit will honor the holy men and women of America, Saints, Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God, who have shaped the nation’s faith and offer inspiring models of Christian virtue.

Column by Sister Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT Most of us, when we think about growth in the spiritual life, focus on healing our wounds—specific memories of pain, regret or trauma. That work is important. But there is something deeper that often goes unnoticed: not just our memories but our memory itself needs healing.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11. The Mass will be livestreamed. Also, the Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is included in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Today, on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Bishop John E. Keehner promulgated his first pastoral letter, Sic Deus Dilexit Mundum: God So Loved the World, a pastoral reflection on the meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for Our World Today.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV used a sweeping reflection on artificial intelligence to question whether the Catholic Church's centuries-old just war framework remains valid in modern warfare and to ask pardon for the church's role in slavery. The pope's 82-page encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas" ("Magnificent Humanity"), primarily focuses on the ethical development of artificial intelligence and the dangers posed by autonomous weapons, concentrated technological power and the erosion of human dignity. But within the document, Pope Leo also makes several broader interventions on war, violence and historical injustice.

With his 50th anniversary of religious life just around the corner, Father Louis Studer, OMI, recently reflected on his journey to the priesthood and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. This native son of the Diocese of Sioux City presently serves as president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, and was the provincial of the U.S. Province Missionary Oblates.

The Child of God quilters welcome the newly-baptized at Remsen St. Mary Parish. They cut, piece and sew one of a kind quilts for babies on the day of their baptism.

(Bilingual) The relics of six Mexican martyr priests who were members of the Knights of Columbus will be at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City June 15 and St. Mary Church in Rock Valley June 18. Las reliquias de seis sacerdotes mártires mexicanos, miembros de los Caballeros de Colón, estarán en la Catedral de la Epifanía en Sioux City el 15 de junio y en la iglesia Santa María en Rock Valley el 18 de junio.

Diocesan priest Father Anthony Pick, 84, of Sioux City, formerly of Slayton, Minnesota, died May 25. His funeral Mass will be June 2 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Slayton. Burial will be at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery in Avoca, Minnesota.

After three years of planning, fundraising and construction, the 145-seat Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the Sioux City Trinity Heights Queen of Peace Shrine was dedicated by Bishop John E. Keehner yesterday. Principal concelebrants were Bishop Emeritus Walker Nickless and Father David Hemann, rector of the Trinity Heights shrine. Priests from the surrounding area, including South Sioux City, also concelebrated.

(Bilingual) In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV wrote on the safeguarding of the human person in the time of Artificial Intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas. The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Development has released a summary document below.

(CNS) Pope Leo XIV's much-anticipated encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," (“Magnificent Humanity”) on the protection of the human person in the age of AI, will be released May 25, 2026, with Pope Leo attending the document's presentation at the Vatican.

When the bell rang for the final time before summer break this week at Sacred Heart School in Boone, Emmetsburg Catholic and Pocahontas Catholic – the schools’ principals were not only wrapping up another school year but their long-time careers in Catholic education.