The Diocese of Des Moines ( la, Diœcesis Desmoinensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the southwestern quarter of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. It is a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa count ...

. The

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

for the diocese is

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

parish for the diocese is

St. Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

. Currently Bishop William Michael Joensen is the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the diocese.

History

Catholic Pastoral Center - Des Moines, Iowa

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 Joseph Rosati (30 January 1789 – 25 September 1843) was an Italian-born Catholic missionary to the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, ...

. 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 The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the United States, U.S. state of Iowa ...

. 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. When the Des Moines Diocese was established, Saint Ambrose Parish church became the

for the new diocese.

Reports of sex abuse

In January 2015, Pope Francis

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The t ...

Diocese of Des Moines priest Howard Fitzgerald, who was accused of committing acts of sex abuse. Fitzgerald had previously been placed on administrative leave in 2014. 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 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. However, the statute of limitations in Iowa prevented the victim from pursuing criminal charges against Grant. He later was employed by the

as a theology professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University and as the sacramental minister for the St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass. 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.

Churches

Bishops

Bishops of Des Moines

Austin Dowling Daniel Austin Dowling (April 6, 1868 – November 29, 1930) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the second archbishop of what was then the Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota from 1919 until his death. Dowling s ...

(1912–1919), appointed Archbishop of Saint Paul #

Thomas William Drumm Thomas William Drumm (July 12, 1871 – October 24, 1933) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Des Moines from 1919 until his death in 1933. Biography Thomas Drumm was born in Fore, County Westmeath, t ...

(1919–1933) #

Gerald Thomas Bergan Gerald Thomas Bergan (January 26, 1892 – July 12, 1972) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa (1934–1948) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska ...

(1934–1948), appointed Archbishop of Omaha #

Edward Celestin Daly Edward Celestin Daly, Dominican Order, O.P. (October 24, 1894 – November 23, 1964) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 1948 ...

, O.P. (1948–1964) #

George Biskup George Biskup (August 23, 1911 – October 17, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Des Moines, Iowa (1965–1967) and Archbishop of Indianapolis (1970–1979). Biography Early life and ministry Georg ...

(1965–1967), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Indianapolis # Maurice John Dingman (1968–1986) # William Henry Bullock (1987–1993), appointed Bishop of Madison #

Joseph Charron Joseph Léo Charron C.PP.S. is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Charron served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 1994 to 2007 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minn ...

C.PP.S. The Missionaries of the Precious Blood ( la, Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis) is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The Missionaries of the Precious Blo ...

(1993–2007) #

Richard Pates Richard Edmund Pates (born February 12, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Pates served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 2008 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and M ...

(2008–2019) # William Michael Joensen (2019–present)