Remsen St. Mary's School held a Las Posadas for the students recently.

“And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord,” Ez 43:5, from the first reading of the rededication Mass for the renovated St. Rose of Lima Church in Denison. In September 2024, St. Rose of Lima Parish kicked off a $2 million fundraising campaign, Witness His Glory, to finish what was begun in 2006 when the church was built, and to enhance the worship space. Bishop John E. Keehner presided at the rededication Mass last night, in the church filled with parishioners, diocesan priests and deacons.

Students at Emmetsburg Catholic School participated in an Advent retreat recently.

The Sioux City Cathedral Dual Language Academy recently celebrated las Posadas with students through prayer, call and response, traditional songs, games, crafts and the sharing of tamales. The celebration brought students together in a joyful and meaningful way, highlighting faith, culture, and community during the Advent season.

Pope Francis designated 2025 as a jubilee year and opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024, to usher in the Jubilee Year of Hope. The Diocese of Sioux City opened the jubilee year Jan. 26, 2025, with Mass at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City celebrated by Bishop Walker Nickless. Bishop John E. Keehner will close the jubilee year in the diocese Dec. 28 at the 10 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Epiphany. All are welcome to attend. “Because a jubilee year is an extraordinary year of graces and blessings which happens once every 25 years, it is a year that is opened and closed with considerable fanfare,” explained Father Andrew Galles, diocesan director of worship.

Several parishes and schools in the Diocese of Sioux City held services and festivities to mark the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12. In many parts of the diocese with large Hispanic populations, celebrations began in early morning hours with the singing of the mañanitas. not only included Mass but large fiestas featuring lively music with mariachi bands, native dancing and ample food.

A mission trip to Guatemala for nine parishioners of Divine Mercy Parish of Kossuth County proved to be impactful to those they served and the missionaries. Among participants were Deacon David Penton and his wife, Amy. The deacon explained he always wanted to go on a mission trip to learn about pastoral care in a different part of the world. “When I arrived, my heart was broken because the people had nothing,” he said. In time the deacon realized, “they had nothing but lacked for nothing."

The Storm Lake area Knights of Columbus partnered with St. Mary Parish in Storm Lake to support Hope for Life (formerly Cornerstone for Life), the Storm Lake area pregnancy support center for women and families in need. The drive was part of Respect Life Month.

A special collection is taken up annually at the Masses in the four Sioux City parishes to help purchase groceries and household items for the Carmelite Nuns of Sioux City. The dates for the 2026 collection are the Jan. 17 and 18, 2026.

At the end of the recent all-school Advent prayer service at St. Edmond School in Fort Dodge, Tabitha Acree, elementary school principal was congratulated for receiving her doctorate in educational leadership.

The Dicastery for Communication releases a free App entitled “Vatican for All” to provide information on the activities of the Pope and the Church in the world for people with sensory disabilities, as part of the “No One Left Out” project.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities invites Catholics nationwide to participate in the 9 Days for Life Novena for the protection of human life. The novena runs from Jan. 16 to Jan. 24, surrounding the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.

The Storm Lake Knights of Columbus recently voted to donate $1,000 to the Siouxland Soup Kitchen in Sioux City. The Siouxland Soup Kitchen is a non-profit that is dedicated to providing free meals to anyone in need in a dignified and respectful manner. The funds donated were acquired through the Cans for a Cause initiative, where the Knights collect redeemable cans and bottles locally and distribute the redemption proceeds to organizations in need.

New toys, food items and clothing were donated in Onawa at Bomgaars, Dollar General, Lewis Pharmacy, Sunshine Foods, St. John Catholic Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Salix. Nearly all of the boxes were filled to overflowing with gifts when the final pickup was made on Dec. 15.

Bishop's statement on deaths of Iowa Guard members, worldwide violence

A multi-year labor of love turned an unused area in a former convent into a beautiful parish library with 2,000 new volumes of Catholic books for children through adults. Just over a year ago, the Sioux City Holy Cross Parish Women of Faith hosted an open house to showcase the library and Catholic resources available to the parish. Around that time, Father Randy Schon, pastor, asked the organizers – Jeanne Hindman, Jeannie Forker and Michelle Brady – if they thought about opening up the library to a wider audience. He suggested reaching out to the other three Sioux City parishes.

Students in grades 7-12 from throughout the Diocese of Sioux City will have the chance to turn their attention to God at an upcoming youth conference to be held Feb. 28 in at St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson. According to Danielle Fennessy, diocesan faith formation coordinator, the 2026 Turn Youth Conference will feature Bishop John E. Keehner as the keynote speaker. “There is a great interest in Bishop Keehner, having just been ordained in May and he has a great willingness to meet his parishioners,” she said.

Green in Spanish is verde. Blue in Spanish is azul. While adults may turn to products like Duolingo and Babble to learn Spanish, young learners attending preschool at St. Patrick School in Sheldon do so as part of their school day. Jessica Schmalen, principal at St. Patrick School, said while the school has had His Little Ones Preschool for a number of years and a few years back went to an all-day option, this year they decided to offer it as a dual language program and for the first time include 3 year olds.