Illuminating Catholics

Send us Fan Mail Our first episode of season 3! Father Patrick Behm, pastor of St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll, explains all things adoration for us. He explains what adoration is, how to participate in adoration and why Catholics should consider including adoration in their faith lives. Father Behm also talks about the adoration chapel at his parish. Check with your own parish for adoration op...

Send us Fan Mail Wrapping up Season Two with Shayla Moore, executive director of The Warming Shelter in Sioux City. As it is a Corporal Work of Mercy to provide shelter to those experiencing homelessness, in this episode, we learn more about the origins of the shelter, involvement of area faith communities, the support network to help clients long-term and who uses the services at the shelter. Als...

Send us Fan Mail Looking for a regional site for a meaningful road trip? The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin is about 7 to 8 hours away from diocesan parishioners, and many have visited. John Paul Brissette of the shrine shares the story of Servant of God Adele Brice and the message she received from Our Lady of Champion. He invites all to the July 1 to 9 Catholic Sa...

Send us Fan Mail Diocese of Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka invites all to make a pilgrimage to St. Louis Sept. 24 to celebrate the beatification of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The archbishop is a native of Peoria and was a pioneer in using the new media to evangelize and share the Gospel message. Bishop Tylka talks about the archbishop and invites the faithful to plan a pilgrimage to the beatifi...

Send us Fan Mail Kelley Grothus, director of religious education (DRE) of Ascension Parish - St. Malachy Church in Madrid is passionate about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She shares her history of working with the program, how it works and how it meets the needs of children as they grow in their knowledge of the faith. Also, there are three levels of training available starting this summer for...

Send us Fan Mail Bishop John E. Keehner promulgated his first pastoral letter on May 31 - solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The letter, Sic Deus Dilexit Mundum, God So Loved the World - A pastoral reflection on the meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for our world today. He wrote it in anticipation of the June 11, 2026 U.S. Bishops' consecration of our nation to the Most Sacred Heart of Je...

Send us Fan Mail We had a conversation with Jim Murray, our new interim superintendent from Humboldt, and Dr.  Dora Jung, our new Director of Catholic Schools from Sioux City, who will be leading our Catholic Schools Office. They both will hit the ground running July 1 as they begin their new positions with the Diocese of Sioux City and become acquainted with communities, schools, administrators a...

Send us Fan Mail Father Dan Greving, native of Willey and pastor of St. Donatus Parish (Alton, Granville and Hospers churches), helps us to understand Mary's role in the church, her intercessory role, basis in Scripture, Marian feast days and devotions for the Month of May. He clears up misconceptions such as worshipping Mary, adoration vs. veneration and praying to Mary versus requesting her...

Send us Fan Mail We interviewed Jerrett and Luisa Wendt of Built on Rock Parent Coaching. They share the journey that led them to Built on Rock, a Catholic parenting program. Despite many parenting courses, they found themselves at "rock bottom" and found a faith based approach. They will be presenting to parish formation leaders at a workshop in June and offering an evening session in S...

Send us Fan Mail Podcast co-hosts Dawn Prosser and Karmen Bower interview Father David Esquiliano, judicial vicar for the Diocese of Sioux City, about the Freemasons and Catholic teaching about the fraternal organization. Thank you for listening to this episode of Illuminating Catholics – shedding light to understand the modern church. Follow us for more episodes on topics of the Catholic faith. W...

Send us Fan Mail Father Travis Crotty, director of vocations, shares the activities planned for the upcoming months including the June 1-4 Quest pilgrimage to Pilsen, Kansas, hometown of Father Emil Kapaun, servant of God, and Oklahoma City to visit the shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother. Also, there is a July 31 to Aug. 2 Quo Vadis retreat in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Learn more or register here...

Send us Fan Mail Our embedded Catholic Mutual Group claims and risk manager, Dustin Heino, discusses the work of Catholic Mutual, including providing support and resources for parishes enhancing their safety and security measures. As there have been acts of violence, medical emergencies, natural disasters and other situations at houses of worship around the country, parishes need to be prepared fo...

Send us Fan Mail Catholic therapist Justin Derry has recently served as breakout speaker for two diocesan conferences - the Turn Youth Conference in Ogden and the March Men's  Conference in Le Mars. He shares an overview of his talking points from the presentations, including decision making, values and listening to God from a Catholic perspective. He also shares about his background and fami...

Send us Fan Mail Kenrick-Glennon Seminarians Jimmy Fitzsimmons of Sioux City and Garrett Hugeback of Wall Lake stopped into our podcast studio on their Easter break for today's episode! They share their vocation stories as well as a glimpse into seminary life. They also give us an overview of their thesis topics. They will be ordained as transitional deacons June 6 at the Cathedral, and ordai...

Send us Fan Mail As we approach Divine Mercy Sunday on April 12, we had a conversation with Father Matthew Solyntjes, pastor of Divine Mercy Parish of Kossuth County and West Bend. Father Solyntjes unpacks the Divine Mercy with the history and St. Faustina's role, Divine Mercy devotions, and how the fairly new parish selected its patronage.  St. Faustina's diary Divine Mercy events 2026...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Matthew Draud, president of Briar Cliff University, and Dr. Michael Horka, campus minister at Briar Cliff, help us to usher in the Year of St. Francis at the Franciscan university. Bishop John Keehner has designated BCU's Our Lady of Grace Chapel and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rockwell City as pilgrimage sites for the jubilee year. In this episode, we learn about the...

Send us Fan Mail Our director of worship, Father Andrew Galles explains what the anointing of the sick is, when it should ideally be administered and changes in the rite. He also answers practical questions such as when should you call a priest? What is Extreme Unction and is that still a term we use? It's good to have this information before you need it for yourself or a loved one.  Thank yo...

Send us Fan Mail Retired priests in the diocese remain active - really active - by volunteering their time in our parishes, schools and communities. Father Rich Ball of Mapleton and Father Tom Hart of Humboldt share their biographies and histories in the diocese. They also share the many ways that they remain very active and are invaluable providing ministry and work in their respective areas. Be...

Send us Fan Mail Our diocesan judicial vicar, Father David Esquiliano, dispels myths and misconceptions about cremation in the church. He shares the history of the practice and what the preferred practices for funerals, burial and care of cremated remains (also called cremains). Learn the facts for when you plan for your final plans or for a loved one. Thank you for listening to this episode of Il...

Send us Fan Mail Dawn Prosser interviews Dr. Ray Gaurendi who will be the keynote speaker of the 2026 Men's Conference slated for March 21 at All Saints Parish, St. Joseph Church, in Le Mars, Iowa. Learn about the theme of the conference, why men would be interested in attending the gathering and why it's important for men to stand firm in their faith. To sign up for the conference, go t...

Send us Fan Mail Our diocesan director of education services, Kelly Kohout, as been part of a collaborative effort to rewrite and re-tool the assessment that Catholic schools and religious education programs can use to measure the effectiveness of their religion curriculum. She explains how the ACRE (Assessment of Catholic Religious Education) is used in our diocesan Catholic schools as well as ar...

Send us Fan Mail As we prepare for the Lenten season, beginning with Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, do we really know what we are commemorating? Are we making the most of this penitential season of Lent? One of our vicars general and pastor of Mater Dei Parish in Sioux City Father Brad Pelzel helps break down the season for us and offers practical suggestions for your Lenten journey.  There's still...

Send us Fan Mail Bishop John Keehner makes his first appearance on the podcast since his May 1 ordination (he did join us while still Bishop-elect in March 2025). As the faithful are getting to know him, they often ask what his hobbies are. Today he talks extensively about his genealogy research and what he has learned about him family and relationships from this research. There were even a few su...

Send us Fan Mail The diocese's new director of stewardship and development, Heidi Probasco, shares the news that the Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Schools is returning to the diocese! Probasco shares the details and a few new twists to engage more Catholic school supporters. A great announcement for Catholic Schools Week! Thank you for listening to this episode of Illuminating Catholics –...

Send us Fan Mail The author of A Place Called Golgotha: Meditations on the Last Words of Christ, Elizabeth "Liz" Kelly joined us for an episode to focus on the book, which is the basis for the Lent 2026 diocese wide study. She discusses when and why she started authoring faith-based books and the background behind writing A Place Called Golgotha. Each section of the book includes storyte...