A Christmas Message from Bishop William Joensen

by Bishop Joensen | December 25, 2024

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Merry Christmas from Bishop William Joensen and the Diocese of Des Moines!

Saint Gertrude relates that Jesus enters the world through the ear of Mary, when she heard the announcement of the angel Gabriel that she had found favor with God. Mary's "yes" realizes God's desire that His Son would take on a human heart. As Emmanuel - "God wit us" - he bridges all distances and becomes as close to us as the "simplest everyday realities of our lives" (Dilexit nos, n. 34).

As we embark upon a Jubilee Year 2025, under the theme "Pilgrims of Hope," I pray we will continue to accompany one another in our Diocese of Des Moines, unafraid to be simple and to bridge distances among us.

Bishop Joensen

The Most Rev. William M. Joensen, Ph.D. was ordained and installed in 2019 as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines. Born in 1960, Bishop Joensen completed studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio and was ordained a priest in 1989. He earned a doctorate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 2001. He has served in parishes, as spiritual director at St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque and in a variety of roles at Loras College in Dubuque.