Catholics in the Des Moines Diocese will welcome Bishop-elect William Joensen to the diocese during a vespers service — or evening prayer service — at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 at St. Ambrose Cathedral, 607 High St. in Des Moines.
Joensen, 59, a priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, will be installed as the 10th bishop for the Diocese of Des Moines in a ceremony Friday, Sept. 27. He has served at Loras College in Dubuque as a professor of philosophy and assisted at parishes in and around Dubuque.
The bishop-elect attended Iowa State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in zoology, and was in medical school when he joined the priesthood and was ordained in 1989. Joensen served in parish ministry for six years before beginning graduate studies in philosophy.
With his installation, Joensen succeeds Bishop Richard Pates, who became bishop of the Des Moines diocese in 2008. Pates will return to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he will assist Archbishop Bernard Hebda in the pastoral service of students at St. Thomas Academy and Visitation Academy high schools as well as parishes and institutions in the archdiocese.
The Diocese of Des Moines includes 80 parishes in 23 counties in central and southwest Iowa, including St. Patrick Catholic Church and St. Patrick School in Perry.
