William Michael Joensen

Last updated
His Excellency, The Most Reverend

William Michael Joensen

Ph.D.
Bishop of Des Moines
Archdiocese Dubuque
Diocese Des Moines
AppointedJuly 18, 2019
InstalledSeptember 27, 2019
Predecessor Richard Pates
Orders
OrdinationJune 24, 1989
by  Daniel Kucera
ConsecrationSeptember 27, 2019
by  Michael Owen Jackels, R. Walker Nickless, and Thomas Zinkula
Personal details
Born (1960-07-08) July 8, 1960 (age 64)
Waterloo, Iowa, US
MottoExquirite faciem suam
(Seek His face)
Styles of
William Michael Joensen
Coat of arms of William Michael Joensen.svg
Reference style
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Bishop

William Michael Joensen (born July 8, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa since 2019.

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

William Joensen was born on July 8, 1960, in Waterloo, Iowa to Alfred W. Joensen and Marilyn E. (née Simington) Joensen. He is the eldest of five children and grew up in Ames, Iowa. [1] Joensen received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He was attending medical school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, when he decided instead to study for the priesthood. Joensen's seminary education was at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. [2] [3]

Priesthood

On June 24, 1989, Joensen was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Dubuque by Archbishop Daniel Kucera in the Church of the Nativity in Dubuque. [4]

After his 1989 ordination, the archdiocese assigned him as associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Waterloo and faculty member of Columbus High School in Waterloo. He left these two posts in 1992 to become associate pastor of the Church of the Resurrection Parish in Dubuque. [5] Joensen in 1995 went to Washington D.C. to attend the Catholic University of America, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2001. [6] [3]

When Joensen returned to Iowa, he served as a chaplain at Clarke College in Dubuque from 2003 to 2010. At Loras College in Dubuque, Joensen served as chaplain, associate professor of philosophy, and dean of campus spiritual life. At Dubuque's St. Pius X Seminary Joensen was the spiritual director. Joensen also served as a faculty member at the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society in Kraków, Poland. [6] [2]

Bishop of Des Moines

Pope Francis appointed Joensen as the tenth bishop of Des Moines on July 18, 2019. His episcopal ordination took place on September 27, 2019, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in West Des Moines, Iowa. [7] Archbishop Michael Jackels was the consecrator, with Bishop R. Walker Nickless and Bishop Thomas Zinkula as the co-consecrators. [4]

In January 2023, Joensen published a decree that required students in Catholic schools to dress according to their gender at birth and use bathrooms and locker rooms accordingly. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Iowa, USA

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Hanus</span> American prelate

Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B. is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, presiding as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1995 until 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Iowa, USA

The Diocese of Davenport is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Iowa, USA

The Diocese of Des Moines is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southwestern Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque. The see city for the diocese is Des Moines. The cathedral parish for the diocese is St. Ambrose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hennessy (bishop)</span> Irish-born prelate

John Hennessy was a 19th-century Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop and archbishop in the United States. He served as bishop and then the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, from 1866 to 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Rohlman</span> German-born prelate

Henry Patrick Rohlman was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1927 to 1944 and as coadjutor archbishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1944 to 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Pates</span> American prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1943)

Richard Edmund Pates is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Des Moines from 2008 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 2000 to 2008.

William Edwin Franklin is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, He served as an auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1987 to 1993, and as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport, also in Iowa, from 1993 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Eugene Wilkerson</span> American prelate

Gerald Eugene Wilkerson is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1997 to 2015 and as apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Monterey for six months in 2018 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Owen Jackels</span> Roman Catholic priest, bishop, and archbishop

Mons. Michael Owen Jackels is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the metropolitan archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque from 2013 to 2023. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas. Jackels was consecrated bishop on April 4, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Joseph Dendinger</span> United States Air Force general

William Joseph Dendinger is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Appointed by Pope John Paul II, he served as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Island in Nebraska from December 13, 2004, until January 14, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loras Joseph Watters</span> American bishop (1915–2009)

Loras Joseph Watters was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Dubuque from 1965 to 1969, and as the fifth Bishop of Winona from 1969 to 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Keane (bishop)</span> American prelate

James John Keane was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming from 1902 to 1911, and then as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa from 1911 until his death in 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James J. Davis (bishop)</span> Third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, USA

James Joseph Davis was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1906 to until his death in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Biskup</span> American prelate

George Biskup was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in Indiana from 1970 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice John Dingman</span> Sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines

Maurice John Dingman was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Des Moines from 1968 to 1986.

Joseph Francis McGrath was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Baker City from 1919 until his death in 1950.

Francis John Dunn was a bishop in the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in the state of Iowa from 1969 to 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Talley</span>

David Prescott Talley is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Robert Zinkula</span> 21st-century Roman Catholic Archbishop and Prelate

Thomas Robert Zinkula is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as Metropolitan archbishop of Dubuque in Iowa, where he first served as a priest. He served as bishop of Davenport in Iowa from 2017 to 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Joensen named 10th bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines". The Daily Nonpareil . Council Bluffs, Iowa. August 7, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  2. 1 2 Moines, Diocese of Des. "Bishop Joensen". www.dmdiocese.org. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  3. 1 2 Fleig, Shelby. "Meet the next Des Moines bishop: a philosopher, advocate and self-described 'Iowa guy'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  4. 1 2 "Bishop William Michael Joensen [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  5. ↑ "Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Richard Pates, Appoints Rev. William Joensen as Bishop-Elect of Diocese of Des Moines". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops . Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  6. 1 2 "University spiritual life dean appointed Des Moines bishop". Catholic News Agency . Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  7. ↑ Shelby Fleig (September 27, 2019). "Diocese of Des Moines welcomes Bishop William Joensen at ordination". The Des Moines Register . Des Moines. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  8. ↑ Tugade, F. Amanda (January 18, 2023). "Des Moines bishop explains why diocese has new gender identity policies at schools, churches". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Des Moines
2019-Present		Succeeded by
Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.