Bishop Dennis Walsh smiles during the Mass of his ordination and installation Sept. 27 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
The Diocese of Davenport began 2024 waiting and praying for the announcement of a new bishop. Six months later, on June 25, then-Diocesan Administrator Ken Kuntz introduced the future 10th Bishop of Davenport to diocesan staff and the news media. “I am deeply humbled by the confidence that the Holy Father has placed in me,” then-Bishop-elect Dennis Walsh said during a press conference the day of the announcement. “To say that this appointment by the Holy Father was a complete surprise is an understatement.”
Welcome, Bishop Walsh!
The Diocese of Davenport celebrated the Mass of Bishop Walsh’s ordination and installation Sept. 27 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. In his closing remarks, the new bishop thanked Father Kuntz, a retired priest of the Davenport Diocese, for serving as Administrator during the 11-month Sede Vacante (with the Chair vacant) period.
Bishop Walsh, a priest of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, presided at numerous Masses in the months that followed, connecting with Catholics throughout the diocese in English and Spanish. He closed out the year by celebrating Mass with inmates at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison and opening Jubilee Year 2025 in Davenport.
Ordinations
Fathers Dane Dickinson and Mike Snyder were ordained to the priesthood June 1 at Sacred Heart Cathedral by Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of Dubuque. No seminarians were ordained in 2024, so the diocese will not celebrate a Mass of Ordination to the priesthood in 2025. Father Jake Greiner, diocesan vocations director, asked the gathering to pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood so that 2025 will be the only year without this special celebration.
Synodal Summit
The Diocese of Davenport continues its three-year journey to explore priorities identified in the Diocesan Synod listening sessions in 2022. The focus of year two, which began in June, is youth and family engagement. Denise Utter, Chicago-based speaker, coach and writer, spoke at the kick-off summit at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Iowa City. She is leading four follow-up sessions via Zoom.
Chad Pregracke mixes humor with messages during his Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award acceptance speech Dec. 3 at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.
Pacem in Terris, One Among Us recipients have local ties
Chad Pregracke, a Quad-Citian recognized worldwide for energizing people to join him in cleaning up the Mississippi River and other rivers, recycling, planting trees and educating students, received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award Dec. 3. The Davenport Catholic Interracial Council created the award in 1964, which the Quad City Pacem in Terris Coalition (an interfaith group) has presented since 1978. Pregracke, the founder and president of Living Lands & Waters, is the first recipient recognized for work on environmental justice and care for creation.
The same evening, the Pacem in Terris Award Committee honored Barb Arland-Fye with the One Among Us award, first presented in 2017 to recognize local peace-fostering efforts. As editor of The Catholic Messenger for more than 20 years, she has covered many Pacem in Terris award ceremonies, interviewed many recipients and accompanied then-Bishop Thomas Zinkula to India to present the award to the Dalai Lama. She is “prolific writing articles and editorials within the sphere of Catholic Social Teaching,” said Deacon Kent Ferris, director of social action for the Diocese of Davenport, which oversees the awards.
Catholic school news
Supporters broke ground for the new $38 million St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Bettendorf in May. The 77,990-square-foot building, located at the intersection of Hopewell Avenue and Criswell Street, will replace Lourdes Catholic School in downtown Bettendorf. The completion of the new structure remains on target for fall 2025.
University news
St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids on Aug. 1 signed an agreement to strategically combine by mid-2026, with the approval of regulatory agencies. At that point, St. Ambrose would become the nonprofit parent organization of Mount Mercy.
A blessing of the Presentation Sisters Department of Nursing and the Nano Nagle Online Nursing Program took place Oct. 17. The Presentation Sisters of South Dakota contributed $6 million in financial support to St. Ambrose University in addition to recognizing the sisters’ legacy in nursing education and rural healthcare. Nano Nagle, the program’s namesake, founded the Presentation Sisters in 1775 in Cork, Ireland.
Celebrating 50 years
The Diocese of Davenport’s Immigration Office celebrated 50 years of reunifying families Dec. 12. The diocesan Immigration Office assists U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents in petitioning the government for visas to allow their relatives to immigrate to the United States. Legal permanent residents may petition for children and spouses while U.S. citizens may also petition for their siblings and parents. The office also assists the bishop in preparing documents for religious visa applications.
Project Renewal in Davenport celebrated a golden anniversary in 2024, continuing the legacy of its founder, the late Sister Concetta Bendicente of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and her collaborators — her religious community and the late Msgr. Marvin Mottet of the Davenport Diocese. Project Renewal provides educational, recreational and social activities for children during the school year and summer in a safe, loving environment.
Retirements and farewells
Fathers Nicholas Adam, Terrill Ball, David Brownfield and Paul Connolly entered retirement in 2024 as did Deacons Ronald Stein and Joseph Rohret.
The Missionaries of the Precious Blood bid farewell to Catholics in southeastern Iowa after nearly 90 years of pastoral ministry. Precious Blood priests most recently served at St. Mary Parish-Centerville, St. Patrick Parish-Melrose, St. Mary Parish-Albia, St. Patrick Parish-Georgetown, St. Peter Parish-Lovilia and St. Mary of the Visitation Parish-Ottumwa. Father Joe Nassal, the community’s vice provincial director, said the community has experienced a diminishing number of priests, unexpected deaths and several retirements in recent years. Members have expressed a desire to live in closer proximity to each other in a centralized location.
Awards
The Catholic Messenger earned two awards in the 2024 Iowa Better Newspaper Contests. In the weekly, class 3 category, the Messenger earned first-place honors for Best News Feature Story and third-place for Excellence in Editorial Writing. The Messenger took home three awards in the Catholic Press Awards competition of the Catholic Media Association (CMA) this year: first place for Best Coverage of a Disaster or Crisis, first place for Best Editorial on a National or International Issue and second place in Best Coverage of Ecumenical and Interfaith Issues.
In memory
These clergy and women religious with ties to the Davenport Diocese died in 2024: Msgr. Frank Henricksen; Father Robert Busher; Father Patrick Lumsden, Father Ramon “Ray” Dompke, C.Ss.R.; Sister Jeanette Kopel, CHM; Sister Michael Marie Burns, OSF; Sister Virginia Bartholome, CHM; Sister Shawn Kelley, OSF; Sister Elaine Hagedorn, CHM; Sister Mary Jeannette Doran, OCD; Sister Rachel Beeson, CHM; Sister Mary Francis Burke, OSF; Sister Ann Martinek, OSF; Sister Margaretha “Greta” Fitzgerald, CHM; and Sister Joan Sheil, CHM.
