Bishop Garrigan Schools held three meetings Aug. 4 to announce proposed plans for the school that include an $8 million capital campaign titled Expanding The Vision, Honoring The Tradition. The meetings were led by the school’s president, Christina Peterson, who shared reasons why the campaign was needed and their vision for the future.

Bishop John E. Keehner helped the Office of Vocations wrap up the Quo Vadis retreat with Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Milford Sunday afternoon. The retreat was held in the Iowa Great Lakes area. Most of the diocesan seminarians were on hand to lead the retreat as well as Father Travis Crotty, vocations director, and Father Shane Deman, director of seminarians. Young men discerning a priestly vocation participated in the weekend event.

(Bilingual - Spanish below) Bishop Keehner writes about pilgrimage opportunities in the Jubilee Year of Hope, Masses of Welcome and the upcoming holy day - solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Approximately 1,000 people from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota packed the Sioux City Mater Dei Parish/Nativity Church last night for A Night of Healing with Ge'La. The event was held entirely in Spanish.

A family tragedy at an early age led a young Sioux City parishioner to lean into his faith and make the decision to positively impact others. Chance Riley, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Sioux City, was 12 when his father died by suicide in 2019. “My dad was so connected to the church and the church family at Sacred Heart. We are a faith-based driven family in general,” said the 2025 graduate of West High School in Sioux City.

Providing gatherings for young adults to connect with one another and be nurtured in their faith is something most parishes continually look for ways to offer. Father Zach Jones, parochial vicar at Divine Mercy Parish in the northeast part of the diocese, came up with the idea of offering a Young Adult Retreat after talking to other priests who have organized similar events and saw fruits of the gatherings.

As northwest Iowa is largely rural with agriculture playing a major role in the economy and heritage, Catholics may soon participate in a new Mass focused on care of the environment. The formulary of a new Mass “for the care of creation” (Pro Custodia Creationis) was added to the Roman Missal – the liturgical book with texts for celebrating Mass – June 8 by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

Briar Cliff University in Sioux City announced the launch of a new centennial documentary project, A Most Unlikely Place: A Century of Faith, Service, and Learning, which will chronicle the university’s 100-year history. The project is beginning its initial development phase this summer and has received a $10,000 grant from The Gilchrist Foundation to support this effort.

“Seeing with the eyes of faith and the practice of spiritual accompaniment” was the theme the deacons and their wives of the Diocese of Sioux City contemplated in their annual community retreat July 18-20 at the St. Benedict Center in Schuyler, Nebraska. Deacon Matthew Halbach, director of deacon formation for the Diocese of Des Moines, led the retreat. The deacon is a national author and speaker on mercy, accompaniment, evangelization and catechesis.

Essay by North American College seminarian Anthony Vera regarding how studying in Rome has shaped his formation. Reprinted with permission from Roman Echoes. "The greatest strength of Rome is the spiritual nourishment available from its abundance of beautiful churches and holy saints. It is a blessing to visit the resting place of saints on their feast days and ask for their intercession."

The Catholic Schools Office of the Diocese of Sioux City and the Faith Formation Office both held orientation sessions at the Central Catholic Offices last week to kick off the new academic year and religious education year.

Grace Notes column: In the course of an ordinary life, many things arise which can challenge our faith. This can be especially difficult when the issue is rooted in groundbreaking new developments in the world of technology, medical knowledge or man’s capacity to alter life in both positive and negative ways scientifically.

(bilingual) LA COLECTA ANUAL NACIONAL DEL FONDO DE RETIRO PARA RELIGIOSOS se llevará a cabo el 9 y 10 de agosto. Se le invita a participar en esta colecta nacional anual para apoyar a los religiosos mayores a lograr las crecientes necesidades de jubilación y el cuidado de personas mayores. Su donativo al Fondo de Jubilación para Religiosos ayuda a proporcionar medicamentos, atención de enfermería y más. Por favor, sea generoso usando el sobre en su paquete de coleta, con cheques a nombre de la parroquia. Gracias. THE NATIONAL ANNUAL COLLECTION FOR THE RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS will be held August 9-10. You are invited to participate in this annual national collection to support elderly religious meet the growing retirement and eldercare needs. Your gift to the Retirement Fund for Religious helps to furnish medications, nursing care, and more. Please give generously using the envelope in your collection packet, with checks made out to the parish. Thank you.

“Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a great way to strengthen your relationship in your marriage and learn about your body so you can appreciate it, how it works and how beautiful that is to create life,” said Suzanne Schneider, NFP practitioner from Madrid and Ascension Parish member. July 20 kicks off national NFP Awareness Week in the United States. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops points out that the church supports NFP and its methods in marriage

The faithful from the central deanery gathered at Storm Lake St. Mary Parish for the second summer Mass of Welcome with Bishop John E. Keehner. He presided at a Mass, then greeted parishioners in the hall. A meal was served by the Storm Lake area Knights of Columbus and the parish Women's Guild.

(Bilingüe/bilingual)Son momentos inciertos para los inmigrantes en EE.UU. y las parroquias católicas. Por muy preocupantes que sean las noticias sobre el aumento de aplicación de leyes y de mayor temor en las comunidades inmigrantes, también hay numerosos informes sobre la reacción de la Iglesia Católica para "garantizar que cada persona viva con dignidad". It is an unsettling time for immigrants in the U.S. and in Catholic parishes. As troubling as the news is regarding increased immigration enforcement and heightened fear in immigrant communities, there are also numerous reports of the Catholic Church’s reaction to “ensure that every person lives with dignity.”

The nation’s first ever federal K-12 scholarship tax credit program was recently signed into law. This historic legislation was part of One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed by the 119th Congress and signed into law on July 4 by President Donald Trump. According to Trish Wilger, executive director of Iowa ACE, this new federal initiative is designed to provide federal income tax credit for individual donors supporting scholarships for K-12 students.

Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) released Impact of Mary, Mother of the Church, on Ecclesial Vocations, a first-ever study of its kind, surveys how much of an impact Marian devotion has had on the ecclesial vocations of clergy and religious in the U.S. Catholic Church. A total of 1,019 U.S. bishops, diocesan priests, permanent deacons, deacon directors, and major superiors of men and women completed a survey. The findings indicate that for a majority, devotion to Mary has had an impact on their vocational discernment as well as in how they live out their vocations.

There is a new option in Fort Dodge for senior citizens who need a little help with everyday living, but don’t require the services of a nursing home. The Marian Home and Village recently expanded beyond its longtime home at 2400 Sixth Ave. N. to open a new assisted living facility just a couple blocks away. When Villa Care Center closed in 2023, the Marian Home and Village acquired its property and thoroughly renovated the former Villa Cottages at 925 Martin Luther King Drive to create 12 assisted living apartments. Some of those apartments are already occupied.

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.