Dr. John Flanery of Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools in Sioux City will be recognized with a Lead. Learn. Proclaim. Award from the National Catholic Educational Association at the April 6 Convention and Expo in Minneapolis.

St. Ambrose University is hosting the upcoming international conference, From A(mbrose) to (Gen.) Z: Resourcing the Tradition in Response to Contemporary Concerns in the Church. The conference will be held April 24–26, 2026, at St. Ambrose University’s campus in Davenport, Iowa. Registration is available on the conference website.

Storm Lake St. Mary’s sixth, seventh and eighth grade students participated in an essay contest sponsored by the Buena Vista County Soil and Water Conservation District. The contest was entitled “Soil. Where it All Begins.” Several students received awards.

The diocesan Catholic Schools Office is accepting nominations for the annual Catholic school leadership awards. Winners will be honored at the Oct. 11 Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Schools, which is returning to the diocese after a short hiatus.

The Light is ON for You confessions will be held March 3 in parishes throughout the Diocese of Sioux City. Father Andrew Galles explained that this special block of confession time is intended primarily for those who needed to be invited back to the sacrament.

A large crowd of Catholic Charities supporters, staff, board members, clergy and community members gathered in Sioux City Feb. 23 for the grand opening, blessing and Siouxland Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the new 7,200 square foot Angeline’s Wing for Children and Families.

A unique bottle of bourbon will shine a light on a local parish and raise funds for a diocesan Catholic school. S & B Farms Distillery in Bancroft is donating a bottle of White Collar “wheated” bourbon to their Catholic school with a label sporting an image Father Zach Jones, parochial vicar, and Deacon David Penton of Divine Mercy Parish.

Gathered for the Rite of Election held Feb. 22, 65 catechumens – unbaptized seeking to become members of the Catholic Church – were reminded that while they chose to take the necessary steps to join the faith, it was God who first chose them. Bishop John E. Keehner was celebrant and homilist for the rite celebrated for catechumens from parishes throughout the diocese. “Today you have come to this Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Sioux City, guided, I dare say, by the Holy Spirit, in order to proclaim your desire to enter into the mystery of the life, the death and resurrection of Jesus through the waters of baptism,” he said.

St. Joseph Parish in Salix is gearing up for the 100th anniversary celebration of its church building that will include Mass celebrated by Bishop John E. Keehner on April 26 at 11 a.m. According to Father Shinoj Jose, pastor, when he arrived at the parish on his first day in the summer of 2024 he noticed the cornerstone of the church was dated 1926. “At my first meeting with the finance council, I said we are going to have a wonderful gathering in 2026 to celebrate the 100 years,” he said, noting that St. Joseph Parish has the oldest church he has ever served.

Diocesan parishes and schools marked the beginning of the penitential season of Lent with Ash Wednesday services. Bishop John Keehner celebrated his first Ash Wednesday in the diocese during a noon Mass at the Sioux City Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Parishes, schools and other diocesan locations will soon have access to a tool that can save lives in and around their properties. Diocesan entities will be able to purchase naloxone nasal spray to have at their locations. Naloxone is used to reverse opioid overdoses quickly and effectively.

Pope Leo XIV declared a Jubilee Year for St. Francis of Assisi upon the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death. The year began on Jan. 10 and will end Jan. 10, 2027. As part of the observance, the diocese has selected two pilgrimage sites with a connection to the saint or under his patronage – Our Lady of Grace Chapel at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rockwell City, part of Our Lady of the Plains Parish.