Strong parent and grandparent involvement in Catholic schools is one of the many wonderful blessings and traditions of diocesan schools be it working in concession stands or reading to students. For about five years now, parents and grandparents at St. Edmond School in Fort Dodge have had to opportunity to become involved in a distinctively spiritual way through the Prayer Partner Program. They are asked to pray daily for specific faculty and/or staff members of the school.

After more than 30 years, the bell at St. Joseph Church in Salix is being prepped to ring once again. According to Don Mohning, a member of the finance council at St. Joseph’s and coordinator of the bell refurbishing project, it was in the fall of 2024 not long after Father Shinoj Jose arrived at the parish when the priest inquired about the bell. “It wasn’t ringable – basically the timbers that supported it were so rotted that there was fear if you pulled on the rope it would fall apart,” explained Mohning. “So, the bell hadn’t been rung for many years.”

Parents and family members who have mourned the loss of an infant attended the Memorial Mass for Miscarriage and Infant Loss held Oct. 14 at Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. Celebrated by Bishop John E. Keehner, the annual Mass was again held in October during the month that the Catholic Church observes as Respect Life Month. October is also Pregnancy, Infant and Child Loss Awareness Month. In the Gospel referring to Matthew 8, the bishop said Jesus reminds the disciples and all of the faithful of the immensity of God’s love.

The six recipients of the 2025-26 Bishop’s Education Awards were recognized Oct. 13 during a lunch with Bishop John E. Keehner and members of the Office of Catholic Schools in Sioux City. The Catholic Schools Office for the Diocese of Sioux City announced winners of this year’s Bishop’s Education Awards last spring when visits were made to the schools. Four teachers received the Excellence in Education Award: Trish Boettger of St. Rose of Lima School in Denison, Jennifer Clay of Sacred Heart School in Sioux City, John Jorstad of Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City and Erin Miller of Bishop Garrigan School in Algona. Two other Catholic school staff members were honored with the Good Shepherd Award: Deb Kollasch of Bishop Garrigan School in Algona and Rosie Kunkel of St. Mary School in Remsen.

On Oct. 12, parishioners participated in the annual Eucharistic procession from the St Lawrence site to the Holy Spirit site of John Paul II Parish in Carroll to honor the upcoming feast day of St. John Paul II.

The Office of Vocations, Faith Formation Office and several directors of religious education (DREs) are offering a Vocations Encounter Night for youth grades seven through 12 on Nov. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Our Lady of the Plains Parish, St. Mary Church in Lake City in the parish center. All youth are welcome to attend. There is no cost to participate. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

(bilingual - Spanish below) Pope Leo XIV, a former missionary priest and bishop in Peru, and the first successor of St. Peter born in the United States, has become the first Pope to record a video message asking Catholics across the globe to help him support missionaries across the globe. El Papa León XIV, otrora sacerdote y obispo misionero en Perú, y primer sucesor de San Pedro nacido en Estados Unidos, se ha convertido en el primer pontífice en grabar un mensaje en video pidiendo a los católicos de todo el mundo que lo ayuden a apoyar a los misioneros en todo el planeta.

LeMars Gehlen Catholic School announced the overwhelming success of its annual Jaywalk-a-thon student fundraiser, which raised more than $46,000 to support faith-based education and student programs.

Bishop John E. Keehner and Sioux City Cathedral Parish are hosting the fourth annual White Mass Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Epiphany to honor and pray for health care workers.

As the diocesan Office of Pastoral Planning continually reviews data and statistics to gauge activities throughout the Diocese of Sioux City, staff noticed that Calendar Year 2024 showed an uptick in participation in the faith, despite recent challenges.

As the presence of the Bible-based character education program Lifewise Academy spreads across the country including in the Diocese of Sioux City, some questions and concerns pertaining to the program’s curriculum and alignment with Catholic teaching have arisen. “Lifewise Academy is an organization that works with local communities to provide Bible-based character education during the school day in accordance with national laws that allow these classes to occur as long as they are off of school property, are privately funded and are parent permitted,” said Karmen Bower, diocesan director of faith formation, who noted that parents must opt their children into these classes.

Column by Sister Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT It is a simple fact that our lives are lived out in the interaction between three realities: God, (including Mary, the angels and saints, the Church Suffering or Purgatory), ourselves (including all of our human relationships) and the evil one (including the many fallen spirits that work with him). Each of these three realities is characterized by a certain spirit.

Having effectively trained priests, deacons and seminarians is important to the life of the church and ministry to the Catholic faithful. The St. Joseph Education Society (SJES) in the Diocese of Sioux City was established to help in that effort by supporting the education and formation of clergy – both priests and deacons – before and after ordination. Catholics of the diocese can join in this effort by contributing to the special collection for the St. Joseph Education Society that will be taken up in parishes Nov. 1-2.

(Bilingual) The USCCB is encouraging the faithful to pray a novena for mental health from Oct. 10 to 18 as Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day.

(CNS) In his first major document, Pope Leo XIV says Scripture and tradition clearly show that "God has a special place in his heart" for the poor and oppressed, and he asks his church "to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest."

A family mentoring program at Fort Dodge St. Edmond School serves both as a way to welcome new families as well as to help them navigate their new school. Once mentored themselves, the Ponce family is now serving as mentors to a new St. Edmond family.

The special Jubilee of Migrants and Jubilee of the Missions were held at the Vatican on the same weekend, giving Pope Leo XIV an opportunity to talk about the connection between sharing the Gospel and welcoming newcomers -- both of which are Christian obligations.

The Jubilee of Migrants and the Jubilee of Missions are both being celebrated in Rome this weekend. Pope Leo XIV joined the two themes earlier this week when he met with participants discussing migration at a conference in Rome sponsored by Villanova University, the U.S. bishops and the Vatican.

Anne Loew, nurse practitioner from Carroll, serves homeless veterans through the Veterans Administration Central Iowa. She manages their health care, is on the team to provide basic necessities for the veterans and ensures the veterans are heard. "It's not anything that I'm doing, I'm trying to let God work through me," she said.

The diocesan Office of Worship and Office of Faith Formation have teamed up to offer a unique tool to assist parish OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) teams. The limited series podcast, OCIA Deep Dive, is available to assist any team member navigating the transition to OCIA.