The Diocese of Sioux City (Latin: Diœcesis Siopolitanensis) is the Latin Church diocese for the northwestern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The cathedral parish for this diocese is the Epiphany and the see city is Sioux City.
The Diocese of Sioux City comprises 24 counties in northwestern Iowa, covering 14,518 square miles (37,600 km2).
== History ==
=== 1830 to 1920 ===
The first Catholic missionaries arrived in the Iowa area during the early 1830s. They were under the supervision of the Diocese of St. Louis. In 1837, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Dubuque, covering Iowa and adjoining territories.
In the late 19th century, Bishop John Hennessy of the Diocese of Dubuque requested that the Vatican divide the state into two dioceses, with the new diocese covering the lower half of Iowa. Hennessy suggested that the see of the new diocese be located in Des Moines, Iowa, but the Vatican in 1881 chose Davenport instead.
On July 24, 1900, Pope Leo XIII erected the new Diocese of Sioux City by separating 24 counties in northwestern Iowa from the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The Catholic population of the diocese was about 50,000. The pope appointed Reverend Philip Garrigan, vice rector of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as the first bishop of the new diocese.
Garrigan designated the uncompleted St. Mary's Church in Sioux City as the cathedral for the diocese. He renamed it the Cathedral of the Epiphany. During his tenure as bishop, Garrigan visited all the parishes of the diocese. He authored the article on the Diocese of Sioux City for the Catholic Encyclopedia.
=== 1920 to 2000 ===
After Garrigan died in 1919, Pope Benedict XV named Auxiliary Bishop Edmond Heelan of Sioux City as his successor in 1920. During his term as bishop, Heelan greatly expanded Catholic education in the diocese. In 1929, Heelan donated land in Sioux City to the Sisters of St. Francis for the establishment of Briar Cliff College for women. In 1947, Pope Pius XII named Reverend Joseph Mueller of the Diocese of Belleville as coadjutor bishop to assist Heelan. When Heelan died in 1948, Mueller automatically became bishop of Sioux City.
During his 22-year-long tenure, Mueller built several new schools, churches, and other parish facilities. After Mueller retired in 1970 Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Frank Greteman of Sioux City as its fourth bishop. The primary focus of his episcopate was Catholic education. Greteman retired in 1982. In 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed Reverend Lawrence D. Soens as the next bishop of Sioux City. While Soens was bishop, he established the Ministry 2000 program, the Priests Retirement Fund, and some youth ministry programs. The diocese also mandated that the parishes establish pastoral and finance commissions.
In 1997, John Paul II named Reverend Daniel DiNardo from the Diocese of Pittsburgh as coadjutor bishop to assist Soens. When Soens retired in 1998, DiNardo automatically succeeded him as bishop.
=== 2000 to present ===
In 2004, Pope Benedict XVI appointed DiNardo as coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. To replaced DiNardo in Sioux City, Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor R. Walker Nickless of the Archdiocese of Denver as the seventh bishop of the diocese.
In 2015, Nickless granted permission to the Ministry Institute of Christ the Servant to identify as a Catholic institute. The Ministry Institute is affiliated with Briar Cliff University.
In 2016, the diocese announced plans to consolidate 41 parishes due a shortage of priests and decreased mass attendance. The consolidate parishes became oratories, sites for prayer services, funerals, and weddings, but no weekly masses. Most of the affected parishes were in rural areas of the diocese.
After Nickless retired in 2025, Pope Francis named Reverend John Keehner Jr. from the Diocese of Youngstown as bishop of Sioux Falls on February 12, 2025.
=== Sexual abuse ===
In 1992, after receiving multiple sexual abuse allegations, the Diocese of Sioux City forced Rev. George McFadden to undergo treatment and retire from his pastoral position. However, after finishing treatment, the diocese assigned him to hear confessions and celebrate mass at the cathedral. McFadden was finally suspended from all ministerial functions in 2002. At that time, Bishop DiNardo said it had been a mistake in 1992 to allow McFadden to continue in ministry. By August 2004, the diocese had been served with 20 lawsuits alleging abuse by McFadden. The diocese had settled 16 of these lawsuits by March 2005; by July 2005, the number of lawsuits had reached 26.
In June 2005, the diocese was sued by a man who accused Bishop Soens of fondling him, starting in 1963 when Soens was director at Regina Catholic High School in Iowa City. In November 2008, the diocesan review board for the diocese reported that there were several credible accusations that Soens had sexually abused minors. Thirty-one men had accused him of abusing them between 1950 and 1983. His case was referred to the Vatican for further action.
In October 2018, the diocese admitted that for several decades it had concealed sexual abuse committed by Rev. Jerome Coyle. It stated that Coyle had abused at least 50 minors during his time as priest. Coyle confessed his history to Soens in 1986, who placed him on a six-month medical leave, but did not report the admission to police or suspend him. The diocese eventually forbade Coyle from publicly functioning as a priest. The diocese did not notify anyone of his admission nor of allegations against Coyle, and it did not take any further action against him.
In October 2019, Samuel Heinrichs sued the diocese, claiming that he had been physically and sexually abused when he was ten years old by Rev. Dale Koster. The abuse occurred during the 1960's at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Carroll. The stress caused Heinrichs to develop an ulcer when he was in the fifth grade. The diocese and Heinrichs settled the lawsuit in 2021.
== Bishops ==
=== Bishops of Sioux City ===
Philip Joseph Garrigan (1902–1919)
Edmond Heelan (1920–1948) - Thomas Lawrence Noa (Coadjutor 1946–1947), appointed Bishop of Marquette before succession
Joseph Maximilian Mueller (1948–1970; Coadjutor 1947–1948)
Frank Henry Greteman (1970–1983)
Lawrence Donald Soens (1983–1998)
Daniel N. DiNardo (1998–2004), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of Galveston-Houston (elevated to Cardinal in 2007)
R. Walker Nickless (2005–2025)
John Edward Keehner (2025-present)
=== Auxiliary bishops ===
Edmond Heelan (1918–1920), appointed Bishop of Sioux City
Frank Henry Greteman (1965–1970), appointed Bishop of Sioux City
=== Other diocesan priest who became bishop ===
Dennis Marion Schnurr, appointed Bishop of Duluth in 2001 and later Archbishop of Cincinnati
== Education ==
=== High schools ===
=== Closed schools ===
== References ==
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sioux City". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
== External links ==
Official website
The Ministry Institute of Christ the Servant Archived 2018-12-25 at the Wayback Machine