Audrey Butler, left, and Joanna Staab participate in the diocesan round of the Iowa Catholic Schools Religion Bee last month at Regina Catholic Schools in Iowa City.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
Five middle school students from the Diocese of Davenport will compete at the Iowa Catholic Schools Religion Bee next month.
The Catholic school youths — Samantha Eads and Jon Mendel of Saints Mary and Mathias-Muscatine, Leo Heuer of St. Paul the Apostle-Davenport, Bronwyn Holmes of St. Joan of Arc-Bettendorf, and Liz Whitman of St. Joseph-DeWitt — earned their spots by finishing in the top five at the diocesan competition March 27 at Regina Catholic Schools in Iowa City. Mendel placed first in the field of 18 students.
Six schools participated this year — up from two schools two years ago. Each school chose candidates based on results from a preliminary qualifying quiz, followed by an all-school competition. All schools in the Diocese of Davenport were invited to participate. The bee is “a celebration of the theological, catechetical and interesting Catholic knowledge of our middle school students,” Regina Junior/Senior High Principal Glenn Plummer said.
Each competitor at the Regina bee had five seconds to answer a question posed by Father Chuck Adam, pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville. The questions, which touched on Biblical content, the saints, liturgy and the sacraments, became more challenging as the competition went on. Students were eliminated after answering three questions incorrectly. The final five contestants entered a final round to determine the champion.
The Diocese of Davenport began participating in the Iowa Catholic Schools Religion Bee in 2024. St. Joseph Catholic School in DeWitt served as host the first two years. St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Bettendorf will host the diocesan bee in 2027. The religion bee is a great opportunity for middle school students from throughout the diocese to come together and get to know each other, said Angela Olson, Regina’s head of school.
The state bee is May 1 at 1 p.m. at Cedar Rapids Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The five state finalists will not compete as individuals, as they did in the diocesan competition. Instead, they will compete as a team against other diocesan teams. The Diocese of Davenport will look to secure their first title. Livestream the state bee on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/2e6k99bk or YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/49dpt8z9.
