Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines

The Diocese of Des Moines (Latin: Diœcesis Desmoinensis) is the Roman Catholic diocese for the southwestern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The See city for the diocese is Des Moines. The cathedral parish for the diocese is St. Ambrose. Currently Bishop William Michael Joensen is the bishop of the diocese.

Diocese of Des Moines

Diœcesis Desmoinensis
St. Ambrose Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
Territory23 counties in the Southwest quadrant of Iowa
Ecclesiastical provinceDubuque
Coordinates41°35′19″N 93°37′32″W
Statistics
Area12,446 sq mi (32,230 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2013)
837,773
103,430 (12.3%)
Parishes81
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedAugust 12, 1911 (109 years ago)
CathedralSaint Ambrose Cathedral
Patron saintMary, Queen of Heaven
St. Pius X
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopWilliam Michael Joensen
Bishops emeritusJoseph Leo Charron, C.PP.S.
Richard Pates
Map
Website
dmdiocese.org

History

Like other American dioceses, the area that makes up the present diocese was under the jurisdiction of a number of prelates. Most of these were purely academic because of no actual Catholic presence in the area. In the 19th century, the area came under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Saint Louis Joseph Rosati. It was under his jurisdiction that the first permanent Catholic presence came to what would be the state of Iowa.

In 1838, the Diocese of Dubuque was founded. Initially, the area of the Dubuque Diocese included all of Iowa, as well as a large part of the western United States. By 1850 the Diocese's territory came to cover the state of Iowa. Bishop John Hennessey soon came to believe that the southern half of the state would be better served by its own Diocese. While he envisioned Des Moines as the See City for this new diocese, on May 8, 1881, the southern half of Iowa was taken from the Dubuque Diocese and formed into the new Diocese of Davenport. For just over 30 years the area that now makes up the Des Moines Diocese was part of the Diocese of Davenport.

Territory was then taken from the Diocese of Davenport on August 12, 1911, to form the Diocese of Des Moines. The territory that was taken to form the Davenport Diocese is the current territory of the Diocese.[1][2] When the Des Moines Diocese was established, Saint Ambrose Parish church became the cathedral for the new diocese.

Reports of sex abuse

In January 2015, Pope Francis laicized Diocese of Des Moines priest Howard Fitzgerald, who was accused of committing acts of sex abuse.[3] Fitzgerald had previously been placed on administrative leave in 2014.[4]

On March 20, 2020, It was announced that well-known Catholic priest and professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University Rev. Robert L. "Bud" Grant, was suspended from teaching and practicing ministry after a sex abuse allegation surfaced[5][6] The alleged sex abuse was committed during his time in the Diocese of Des Moines' St. Albert High School in Council Bluffs, where he Grant served as a teacher and coach, in the early 1990s and was reported to church officials after the victim reached out to sex abuse advocates.[5][6] However, the statute of limitations in Iowa prevented the victim from pursuing criminal charges against Grant.[5][6] He later was employed by the Diocese of Davenport as a theology professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University and as the sacramental minister for the St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass.[5][6] Following the sex abuse allegations, it was announced that Grant will be suspended from St. Ambrose University and public ministry until at least the time the Diocese of Des Moines completes its investigation of him.[5][6]

Churches
Main article: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines

Bishops

Bishops of Des Moines
  1. Austin Dowling (1912–1919), appointed Archbishop of Saint Paul
  2. Thomas William Drumm (1919–1933)
  3. Gerald Thomas Bergan (1934–1948), appointed Archbishop of Omaha
  4. Edward Celestin Daly, O.P. (1948–1964)
  5. George Biskup (1965–1967), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Indianapolis
  6. Maurice John Dingman (1968–1986)
  7. William Henry Bullock (1987–1993), appointed Bishop of Madison
  8. Joseph Charron, C.PP.S. (1993–2007)
  9. Richard Pates (2008–2019)
  10. William Michael Joensen (2019–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became Bishop

High Schools
School Location Mascot
Dowling Catholic High School West Des Moines Maroons
Saint Albert High School Council Bluffs Falcons

Former High Schools
School Location Mascot Fate
Assumption Granger Tigers Absorbed by Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines in 1966
St. Joseph's Dunlap Shamrocks/Royals Closed in 1961
SS Peter and Paul Defiance Trojans Closed in 1967
St. Boniface Westphalia Trotters Merged with St. Paul's, Defiance, becoming SS Peter and Paul, Defiance in 1964
St. Joseph's Earling Eagles Closed in 1967
St. Joseph's Neola Rockets Consolidated with St. Francis, Council Bluffs to form St. Albert's, Council Bluffs in 1964
St. Mary's, Panama-Portsmouth Portsmouth Knights Closed in 1967
St. Patrick Academy Imogene Shamrocks Closed in 1969
St. Patrick's Perry Knights Closed in 1966

See also
  • Archdiocese of Dubuque
  • Diocese of Davenport
  • Diocese of Sioux City

References
  1. "Diocese of Des Moines". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  2. "Diocese of Des Moines". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  3. "Pope removes priest accused of abuse". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  4. Rodgers, Grant. "Priest on leave after sex abuse allegation". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  5. https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/davenport-priest-suspended-amid-inquiry-into-sex-misconduct-claim
  6. https://whotv.com/news/iowa-priest-suspended-amid-inquiry-into-sex-misconduct-claim/
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