News - July 2025 RSS Feed

Diocesan seminarians James Fitzsimmons and Garrett Hugeback recently returned from a six-week Spanish language experience in Antigua, Guatemala. The two shared the challenges of navigating through their days when no one around them spoke English. They became more proficient in the language and also built meaningful relationships with the Guatemalans, as well as empathizing with the native Spanish speakers in northwest Iowa who communicate 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.

Amy Thole of Sibley earned second place at the National Catholic Daughters of America education contest for her poetry. Yvonne O'Leary, CDA education contest chairperson, presented the award to Thole at St. Andrew Church in Sibley July 27 at Mass.

A priest and three young adults from the Diocese of Sioux City recently evangelized in remote Catholic communities of the rainforest and had their own hearts touched by the Lord during Mission Brazil. Organized through FOCUS Missions, two-year FOCUS missionary Abby Landwehr from Fort Dodge had reached out to Father Pat Behm to serve as the spiritual director to the group of 20 trip participants from around the country. Besides Landwehr, two other trip participants were Will Sanders and Dayna Toft who are both graduates of Kuemper High School in Carroll. All three were former students of Father Behm.

Even though a number of brick-and-mortar abortion clinics throughout the country have closed in recent years – including Planned Parenthood in Sioux City earlier this month – the prevalence of abortion has not only remained but continued to grow thanks to medication abortions. According to Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, the most recent statistics reported by the state of Iowa shows that at least 70% of abortions in Iowa are medication-induced rather than surgical. “However, anecdotally we believe the number of abortions that are ‘off the books’ using drugs ordered online are increasing,” stated Chapman.

“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.”