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Nearly 100 Storm Lake St. Mary High School graduates and supporters convened upon Iowa City Jan. 3 to cheer on the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team and their head coach, Ben McCollum, 1999 Storm Lake St. Mary alumnus.

This is not an age where we want to lose the edge in our discernment. If we do, we can easily end up in dangerous positions, dangerous especially to our souls. One of the things that is more and more prominent is the number of people who become entangled in occult activities (especially witchcraft and New Age) without even recognizing it at first. This is because doors in the spiritual realm get opened.

The faithful are reminded to have their charitable gifts postmarked, date stamped or received by midnight, Dec. 31 to qualify as a deduction for the 2025 tax year.

For the world's 1.4 billion Catholics and for millions of other people as well, the Catholic Church's 2025 was primarily about the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV. In fact, the Wikimedia Foundation announced Dec. 2 that "Deaths in 2025" -- an entry that includes Pope Francis -- was their second most-read entry during the year, and Pope Leo's biography was the fifth most-read article of the 7.1 million entries Wikipedia has in English. "As people rushed online to learn about Leo, traffic to all Wikimedia projects peaked at around 800,000 hits per second -- more than 6x over normal traffic levels, and a new all-time record for us," said the foundation.

Pope Leo XIV will formally close the Jubilee Year of Hope in Rome on Jan. 6, 2026, on the feast of the Epiphany. In the Diocese of Sioux City, Bishop John E. Keehner closed the holy year on Dec. 28, on the feast of the Holy Family, at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City.

Father Steven McLoud, diocesan priest, was sentenced Dec. 22 in Kossuth County District Court after pleading guilty to the charge of third degree fraudulent practice, which is an aggravated misdemeanor.

(Bilingual English and Spanish) ... Of course, our celebration of Christmas is very much a celebration of the light of God’s love come into the world in the person of his only begotten son ... Por supuesto, nuestra celebración de la Navidad es en gran parte una celebración de la Luz del amor de Dios que ha venido al mundo en la persona de su Hijo Unigénito...

Father Eugene Earl Sitzmann, 90, retired priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, died Dec. 20 in Cherokee. His funeral Mass will be Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Le Mars with Bishop John Keehner and Father David Hemann presiding. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Le Mars. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 29 at the Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home in Cherokee. Visitation with the family present will be Dec. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at St. Joseph Church in Le Mars. A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. at the church.

During Poverty Awareness Month, the faithful are encouraged to join the Secretariat of Justice and Peace, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and the Catholic community in the United States in taking up Pope Leo's challenge to live in solidarity with the poor.

“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.

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.