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Board members of the FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa are taking their message of inclusive education on the road. Realizing the growing need to help Catholic schools be more inclusive, they plan to host events around the diocese to share their mission and their impact in the coming months.

Bishop John E. Keehner announced the appointments of seven priests and the retirement of two priests.

For the second year, students from St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge were among the volunteers assisting as the winter and spring competitions for the North Central Iowa Special Olympics.

At first light later this week, the former rectory that once housed nuns and Catholic clergy in Dayton will begin a new journey. The now vacant home was lifted onto a trailer Monday and will soon be moved 6.5 miles southeast to Hidden Acres Christian Center, where it will again serve as a shelter for those in ministry.

Dubuque Archbishop Thomas Zinkula released a letter to the faithful April 11 outlining the Journey in Faith plan that organizes the archdiocese into 24 pastorates or groups of parishes sharing leadership, ministry and resources.

It was St. John Paul II who in the year 2000 announced that Divine Mercy Sunday would be a universal feast of the Catholic Church to be celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter. The late pope made the proclamation during the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska.

Father Dan Greving, pastor of St. Donatus Parish, Alton and Deacon Fred Karpuk of Sioux City Holy Cross Parish received honors at last weekend's Iowa Knights of Columbus State Convention in Des Moines.

The April 13 Monday morning update from the Iowa Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Iowa Catholic Bishops.

Surrounded by family and friends, 2021 Bishop Heelan High School alumna Sister Mary Incarnata of the King of Glory, made her first profession with the Poor Clares of Hanceville, Alabama. She made her profession March 25 on the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

The diocesan shrine of Trinity Heights Queen of Peace Shrine in Sioux City received significant damage to one of its buildings on Easter Sunday when a car crashed into the entrance of the Divine Mercy Chapel. According to Terry Hegarty, executive director of the diocesan shrine, he was out of town on April 5 when the alarm company as well as maintenance man both alerted him to the accident. The incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m.

Column from Sister Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT Every so often in the Gospel, Jesus asks an unsettling question. Perhaps one of the most unsettling questions he asks is whether he will find faith upon the earth when he returns again. It’s a disturbing question because we have a hard time imagining a world where no one believes in God any longer. What could possibly happen to create such a scenario?

Each year, from early March through mid-December, Silver Roses are stewarded by Knights of Columbus councils along routes from Canada to Mexico. Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It will be in the Sioux City Diocese April 19 through 25.

(Bilingual) Bishop John Keehner shares the English and Spanish text of his Easter Vigil homily.

After a jury in California found two large social media companies to be liable of creating social media platforms designed to be addictive, a therapist from Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Sioux City weighed in on the subject. Nate Phillips, clinical supervisor of children and school-based services, said the court decision could be a “watershed moment” that has potential to be akin to the tobacco settlements.

(CNS) In the first Holy Thursday homily of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV called on Catholics to embrace a mission of selfless love, leaving behind comfort and control.

(Bilingual) By suffering for us, by undergoing the horrific death by means of crucifixion, Jesus has turned reality inside out, so that death no longer has the final say in terms of human existence. Rather, in the person of Jesus himself, we see that life is stronger than death. Al sufrir por nosotros, al sufrir la horrible muerte en la cruz, Jesús ha dado un giro radical a la realidad, de modo que la muerte ya no tiene la última palabra en lo que respecta a la existencia humana. Más bien, en la persona del mismo Jesús, vemos que la vida es más fuerte que la muerte.

UPDATED Several parishes in the Diocese of Sioux City are holding Divine Mercy Sunday services on April 12. Many of the services include reflections, adoration, confession and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV advanced the sainthood cause of Father Edward Flanagan, the Irish-born founder of a pioneering home for at-risk boys in the United States, recognizing that he lived the Christian virtues heroically.

The FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa recently announced that six Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City were awarded major grants to strengthen inclusive education and expand support for students with diverse learning needs. According to Dr. Ryan Allen, president of the foundation, a combined total of $80,000 was awarded. “It’s just a testament to how much energy, effort, heart and soul has gone into this effort – not for the five or so years that FIRE has been in existence but for the years leading up to that,” he said. “I’m so grateful, so humbled by what we’ve been able to accomplish together with an all-volunteer base.”

(Bilingual) Bishop John Keehner provides an update on an upcoming surgery and how that would affect his duties and upcoming confirmations. El Obispo John Keehner ofrece información acerca de una cirugía que se llevará a cabo próximamente y de cómo afectará sus funciones y las próximas confirmaciones.