Embarking upon a new era of communications

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ –

I hope that you are enjoying the first few weeks of summer and have a chance to truly relax and be “recreated.”  Hopefully, many of you will be able to spend more time with your family and friends.

June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I had the honor on June 1 to ordain seminarian Jake Rosenmeyer to the transitional diaconate. He has an additional year at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Missouri before, God willing, his priestly ordination in June 2025. Remember Deacon Rosenmeyer and all our seminarians in your prayers. Don’t forget to pray for vocations, especially to the priesthood.

The same weekend as the ordination, parishes around the diocese celebrated the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In the parts of the diocese that didn’t experience rain, many eucharistic processions were held outside to proclaim to the world the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Parishes in areas where it rained that morning may have held small indoor processions similar to Holy Thursday and set aside a time for adoration. 

As many of our priests were ordained in the month of June, there have been numerous celebrations of priestly anniversaries throughout the month. Happy anniversary to all our priests marking milestones and we thank you for your “yes” to the priesthood.

Today is also a significant day as it marks the final time The Lumen and diocesan news will be distributed in print. The newspaper has served us well since April 30, 1953, when The Globe was first published. The weekly diocesan publication was founded by Bishop Joseph Mueller, who served as publisher, as succeeding bishops served for The Globe, The Catholic Globe and now The Lumen.

 I am most grateful that Bishop Mueller, his editor Msgr. Edward Vollmer and their staff saw the importance of putting Catholic news at the fingertips of the faithful. They used the most effective tool of their time, the newspaper. 

We have been blessed with many talented and dedicated journalists and staff members over the 71-plus year history of a diocesan newspaper for their tireless work in sharing the teachings of the church and the work of our parishes, schools and Catholic entities.

Today, the Lumen Media staff and I remain just as committed to reaching the diverse audiences of the diocesan faithful with Catholic news, using the most effective tools of our day. With the rapidly-changing technology in our world, we have numerous cost-effective communications options to reach the people.

Our Lumen Media governing board, Lumen Media staff and myself have studied the local and national trends for many years, noting the vast majority of adults prefer electronic means to obtain information over newspaper, radio and television. For example, since its inception in 2020, the number of our LumeNotes e-newsletter readers has more than doubled our newspaper readers. 

I can’t thank the Lumen Media board enough for their expertise and guidance to bring us to this point to better serve the faithful of the Diocese of Sioux City.

We are excited to usher in a new era of local Catholic journalism and communications today. However, we cannot become complacent but always be willing to meet the people where they are and serve them as effectively as possible. 

Bishop Mueller said in his April 30, 1953, letter on the front page of The Globe that the diocese and all Catholic media were united “in the one great objective of advancing the honor and glory of God, the God-given rights of men and the sanctification of individual readers.”

We’ll continue our communications ministry online. My future letters will be at lumenmedia.org with a link on LumeNotes and will be as close as your computer, smartphone or tablet.

I continue to recover at home from my June 5 ankle replacement surgery. I thank the chancery staff and members of my family for their help. I am most grateful to those who have sent good wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery.  I am doing well - I just need a little more patience and to learn humility in letting others help me.  God uses everything, including recovery from surgery, to help us grown in holiness.  Many blessings to all and again, thank you for your prayers.

Your brother in Christ,

Bishop Walker Nickless

Diocese of Sioux City