Illuminating Catholics

Send us Fan Mail Judge John Sandy of the Iowa Court of Appeals shares his faith journey and how his faith is a guide for him in his work and life. He is also a writer of topics of faith and social justice and Lumen Media has published several of his articles (with more great writings to come). Judge Sandy is a parishioner of St. Mary in Spirit Lake, part of the Catholic Passage efforts in the Iowa...

Send us Fan Mail Speaker, author and Notre Dame campus minister Meg Hunter-Kilmer is the keynote speaker for the Nov. 14 Women’s Gathering in Fort Dodge. She travels the world sharing God’s “fierce and tender love,” as well as her passion for Scripture and the saints. Hunter-Kilmer shares her faith journey, favorite Scripture passage, favorite saints and why she lived out of her car for 12 years....

Send us Fan Mail Father Bill McCarthy and Sherry Hittle of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish talk about the rosary, its role in the faith and history and their own devotions to this powerful devotion as we lead in to October, the month of the Rosary.. Hittle also shares the details of the Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 fifth annual Eucharistic Rosary Congress held at Sacred Heart Church in Ida Grove see LINK . Al...

Send us Fan Mail Divine Mercy Parish of Kossuth County and West Bend has a 14 year relationship with their "twin parish" St. Jeanne de Chantal Parish in Haiti. Parish leaders Alan Laubenthal and Kim Dahlhauser share the history of the relationship, the poverty the Haitian parishioners experience and the importance of the twinning program. Divine Mercy has generously supported St. Jeanne...

Send us Fan Mail Co-founders of the wildly successful Christ Our Life Conference Ellen Miller and Marilyn Lane share their inspiration for the every other year conference and all the hands that make it possible. They share how they are able to attract world-class Catholic speakers and thousands of attendees. Miller and Lane invite all to consider attending what could be a life-changing event on  S...

Send us Fan Mail Most are familiar with the FOCUS missionaries on college campuses, evangelizing college students during a critical time in their lives. St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll has hired the diocese's first parish-based FOCUS missionary - Gregory Kinser. He shares his journey joining the Catholic faith as a high school student, becoming a missionary after college and the move to Ca...

Send us Fan Mail Father Jake Rosenmeyer, parochial vicar of Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County and St. Mary Parish in Humboldt, talks about the life of St. Francis, his devotion to this popular saint and his connection to St. Clare. Father also talks about Briar Cliff University, the Year of St. Francis and diocesan pilgrimage sites (go to www.scdiocese.org/stfrancis for more information).  Tha...

Send us Fan Mail Rachelle Rawson, executive director and co-founder of the faith-based Agape Community Services based in Sioux City. She shares the mission of the organization to serve area men post-incarceration, recovering from addictions or mental illness. They learn responsibility, job skills, lives of service and how to be strong Christian husbands, fathers and community members. The goal is...

Send us Fan Mail María Ruiz Scaperlanda of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City - promoter of the canonization cause for Blessed Stanley Rother, martyred in mission territory of Guatemala where he was ministering in the midst of a civil war. Scaperlanda  wrote the biography “The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run: Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma,” a widely praised biography of the first American-bor...

Send us Fan Mail High school senior Sam Lange of the Archdiocese of Dubuque is a member of the National Youth Advisory Council for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, where he was encouraged to lead a service project. Lange has created the Iowan Eucharistic Procession project, collaborating with dioceses and parishes to organize eucharistic processions in each diocese. Bishops wil...

Send us Fan Mail Since our last interview with Dr. Ryan Allen of the FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa  ( https://firefoundationnwiowa.org ) , the organization gave $80,000 in grants to diocesan Catholic schools to foster inclusion in the schools The mission of the foundation is to champion inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools by providing resources, fundraising and fosterin...

Send us Fan Mail Heidi Probasco, diocesan director of stewardship and development shares more about the Oct. 11, 2026 Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Schools. Tickets will go on sale July 27. Find out which teachers and Catholic school employees will be honored as well as the return of the Clergy Award. Heidi shares other details such as an opportunity to pray through sung solemn vespers (option...

Send us Fan Mail Another corporal work of mercy in the Catholic tradition is feeding the hungry and the conversation for this episode is the work of The Siouxland Soup Kitchen. Executive Director Lyn Kluender explains how the kitchen is supported by area community members, businesses and churches of various denominations. The Siouxland Soup Kitchen opened in 1987 in St. Joseph Church in Sioux City...

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...