Bishop R. Walker Nickless looks on as Bishop-designate John E. Keehner Jr. speaks during a news conference at the pastoral center in the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, Feb. 12, 2025, after Pope Francis appointed him the new head of the diocese. He succeeds retiring Bishop Nickless, who is 77.
By The Diocese of Sioux City and The Catholic Messenger
Pope Francis has appointed Father John Edward Keehner Jr. of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City. The diocese introduced Bishop-elect Keehner at a press conference Feb. 12 at the Central Catholic Offices in Sioux City.
Bishop-elect Keehner, 59, will succeed Bishop Walker Nickless, 77, who has served the Diocese of Sioux City for 19 years, since January 2006. He formally submitted his resignation and request for retirement to the Holy Father on May 28, 2022, on his 75th birthday, as is required of bishops by canon law. The Holy Father formally accepted his resignation with the naming of Bishop-elect Keehner, who will be ordained as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City May 1 at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City.
Bishop Dennis Walsh, a fellow Ohioan, said of the announcement, “I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Bishop-elect John Keehner on his appointment to the See of Sioux City. I offer him my fraternal support and assure him of my continued prayers as he prepares to lead the faithful of the Diocese of Sioux City. May God bless his ministry among them.”
“I also extend my sincere gratitude to Bishop Walker Nickless for his 19 years of faithful service as Bishop of Sioux City. He has led the diocese through so many grace-filled moments in the life of that local Church. It speaks volumes of his deep affection for the people that he has chosen to remain in Iowa for his retirement. I pray that his retirement is filled with joy and peace.”
Bishop-elect Keehner, a native of Youngstown, is one of five children. He attended Austintown schools and graduated from Austintown Fitch High School in 1984. He earned a B.A. in English in 1988 from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He then began studies at Mount St. Mary Seminary of the West in Cincinnati where he earned his M.Div. and M.A. in biblical studies in 1993.
Ordained a priest in 1993 at St. Columba Cathedral, his first assignment was parochial vicar for St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Boardman, Ohio. Father Keehner began canon law studies at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome and earned a licentiate in canon law in 1999. Then he served as a judge to the diocesan Department of Canonical Services.
He has served as vice rector and later rector of the St. Columba Cathedral, director of campus ministry at Youngstown State University. He has served as pastor of St. Casimir Parish, St. Christine Parish in Youngstown as well as St. Luke in Boardman, St. Paul in North Canton and Holy Spirit in Uniontown. The bishop-elect currently serves as dean in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and is pastor of four parishes in the Diocese of Youngstown. He served as adjunct instructor of canon law at St. Mary Seminary in the Diocese of Cleveland from 2021-24.
Additionally, Bishop-elect Keehner has served on the diocesan board of religious education, priest council, and board of mediation and arbitration for the Office of Conciliation, presbyteral council and the priest personnel board. He has served as a spiritual director for the permanent diaconate and as state chaplain and national chaplain for the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Diocese of Sioux City statistics:
The Diocese of Sioux City is comprised of 24 counties in northwest Iowa, with 84,000 Catholics, 37 parishes (many with multiple church locations), 15 Catholic school systems and 36 priests in active ministry.
