Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen

On the eve of All Saints Day, Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jeanne Thill sit down with Deacon Tom Bradley. He is a permanent deacon assisting at All Saints Parish in Des Moines and the author of Dancing Without Applause: The Land Remembers.

Soldier to shepherd. Deacon Bradley grew up in small-town northwest Iowa, in Rockwell City, Fort Dodge, and Pomeroy. He graduated from the University of Iowa and served 30 years as an Army officer. That included 18 years in the infantry, assignments at Fort Benning and in Germany and Korea, and senior logistics planning. He shares how he and his wife built their family through adoption. Before retiring, he spent seven years working with people facing alcohol and substance abuse. He celebrated 20 years as a deacon this fall, and he helped form the diocese’s emergency pastoral response team.

The first book. Marching Without Applause tells the forgotten story of the first Black Army officers trained at Fort Des Moines during World War I. He made a promise to write it 30 years ago.

The new novel. Dancing Without Applause follows Lawrence and Irene. She comes from a strict German Catholic family, and he comes from an Irish Catholic one. Their marriage causes a family rift, and they live through World War I, the Depression, and World War II on an Iowa farm. The book deals with addiction, poverty, and deep-rooted prejudice. Through all of it, the couple clings to the Church, and a hero priest has a cameo role. Deacon Bradley explains:

• the lightning-struck barn on the cover
• why “the land remembers” is a character in its own right
• the reflective “quiet truth” that closes each chapter
• his short, movie-style chapters built for bedtime reading

Faith themes. Bishop Joensen and Deacon Bradley talk about how the novel takes up the Paschal mystery, a dark night of the soul, and reconciliation. Deacon Bradley also describes how his training as a spiritual director helped him listen to his characters.

Get the books: Learn more and order at TomBradleyBooks.com

Support for Making It Personal is provided by Serra Vocations Ministry. Learn more at JoinSerra.org

Hear Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on Iowa Catholic Radio and at IowaCatholicRadio.com

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jeanne Thill welcome Col. Michael Good, USAF (Ret.), a former NASA space shuttle and space station astronaut who recently joined the Bishop on pilgrimage to Poland with former Iowa Catholic Radio morning host Jon Leonetti.

Bishop’s Opening: Respect Life Month and Church News

• Bishop Joensen describes a moving Respect Life Mass at St. John Catholic Church in Adel, with a homily by Fr. Michael Hutchison. Afterward, stones bearing the names of children lost to miscarriage or in early infancy were placed in the parish’s rosary garden. Knights of Columbus took part.
• Confirmations at St. Francis of Assisi Parish this Sunday, October 25.
• Thanks to Lincoln Bishop James Conley for keynoting the first gala of St. Thomas Classical Academy at The Tea Room in Des Moines.
• Prayers for Pope Leo XIV as he recovers from lung surgery ahead of his apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, November 6–17.

Pilgrimage to Poland
Col. Good reflects on the saints and stories of suffering he encountered in Poland: the Divine Mercy Chapel and St. Faustina, going to confession during the pilgrimage, and the visit to Auschwitz the day before.

Growing Up Catholic
One of six children, Good served at the altar from a young age, sometimes alongside three of his brothers at once, while trying to make each other laugh.

The Road to NASA

• Watched the moon landing at age seven and built model rockets as a kid.
• Chose aerospace engineering at the University of Notre Dame and was inspired by the first space shuttle launch in 1981.
• Joined Air Force ROTC during finals week of his sophomore year and walked out with a two-year scholarship. Commissioned in 1984.
• Washed out of pilot training, worked as an engineer, then became a navigator flying the F-111.
• Graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base and flight-tested the B-2 stealth bomber.
• Selected on his third application to NASA’s Astronaut Group 18 in 2000.

Risk, Family, and Faith
Good talks about the Columbia accident early in his NASA career, how he and his family weighed the risks of spaceflight, and his wife, Joan, whom he met in seventh-grade math class. They married at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame and have been married 41 years.

The Final Hubble Servicing Mission
After two and a half years of training, the STS-125 crew performed five back-to-back spacewalks that left Hubble with new cameras, spectrographs, and batteries. Good describes training underwater in a 40-foot-deep, six-million-gallon pool, and his first breathtaking step outside the shuttle with Earth 300 miles below.

Science and Faith Together
Good shares how spaceflight strengthened his faith. He sees the beauty and immensity of the universe as evidence of a Creator and believes science and faith go together perfectly.

Learn more about Col. Good’s career in his NASA biography: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/good_michael.pdf

Hear Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on Iowa Catholic Radio and at https://IowaCatholicRadio.com/

Support for Iowa Catholic Radio and Making It Personal is provided by Serra Vocations Ministry. Learn more at https://JoinSerra.org/

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More from Iowa Catholic Radio:

• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Bishop William Joensen and Co-Host Jeanne Thill welcome Pat Baumhover, a parishioner at Sacred Heart in West Des Moines, Knight of Columbus, and leader of Sacred Heart’s Habitat ministry with the Catholic Circle of Faith.

Bishop’s opening: The Bishop previews confirmations, the installation of permanent diaconate candidates in the Ministry of Lector, and a Respect Life Month Mass. He shares spiritual wisdom from St. Claude de la Colombière, spiritual director to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, on asking God for a simple, solid gift of prayer. He also reflects on St. John Paul II’s call, first given to bishops in Denver in 1993, to help young people encounter the living Christ.

Pope Leo Village: An anonymous donor, inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s call to service, is funding Pope Leo Village builds in cities across the country, including Greater Des Moines. Locally, that means three two-story duplexes, six affordable homes in total, at 1528–1530 Arlington Ave. in Des Moines’s River Bend neighborhood. Bishop Joensen blessed the site on April 24, 2026.

Catholic Circle of Faith: Catholic Circle of Faith is a group of Des Moines-area Catholic parishes that raises funds and builds one Habitat home from start to finish each year. Pat talks about:

• How he grew up on a farm near Carroll and started in construction at 16
• How he learned the trade and later handed it down to his son
• Why every build day begins with the Our Father

How Habitat homeownership works:

• Homebuyers put in 400 hours of sweat equity: the first 200 hours on other families’ homes, then 200 on their own.
• They complete 20 hours of classes on credit, banking, mortgages, insurance, property taxes, and home safety.
• They pay a full mortgage.

Habitat ReStore: The ReStore resells donated building materials, cabinets, and appliances at a discount, and the proceeds fund Habitat homes. There are two locations: 2200 E. Euclid Ave., Des Moines, and 4033 NW Urbandale Dr., Urbandale.

Volunteer: No experience is needed. Habitat provides the tools, hard hats, safety glasses, and gloves, and a construction manager teaches you on site. The next Pope Leo Village volunteer day is Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Register and sign the waiver at:
https://gdmhabitat.org/popeleo/

Learn more at gdmhabitat.org

Support for Making It Personal is provided by Serra Vocations Ministry. Learn more at https://joinserra.org/

Hear Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on Iowa Catholic Radio and https://iowacatholicradio.com/

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Falling birth rates are now a global phenomenon, yet about 5 percent of American women still choose to have five or more children. On this episode of Making It Personal, Bishop William Joensen and Jeanne Thill sit down with Dr. Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, economist, associate professor at The Catholic University of America, Executive Director of the James Cardinal Gibbons Institute for Human Ecology, and mother of eight. They discuss her acclaimed book Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.

Opening reflections
Bishop Joensen marks the October feasts of St. John Henry Newman and St. Teresa of Avila (October 15). He reflects on Teresa’s teaching on perseverance in prayer, and how the same perseverance runs through the real-life stories of the mothers in Dr. Pakaluk’s book.

Stories as social science
Data has long shown that church-going Christians and observant Jews tend to have more children and stronger marriages. What’s been missing is the why. Dr. Pakaluk explains how her qualitative, interview-based research brought the inner lives of these families to an academic world that rarely meets them, and why it has been received so well.

Why “Hannah’s Children”?
The biblical Hannah (1 Samuel 1–2) prefigures Our Lady and saw her children as her greatest blessing. Dr. Pakaluk says the common thread among the women she interviewed wasn’t a number of children. It was a biblical faith that sees children as transcendently good and as an overflow of divine life. She describes two paths into that openness: conversion or reversion, and those who grew up with it. She also stresses that the book’s message includes couples who have not been blessed with children.

Policy, human ecology, and the willing heart
Dr. Pakaluk argues that fertility can be discouraged by policy but rarely encouraged by it. Examples range from China’s one-child policy to subtler barriers like unaffordable family housing. Governments can’t produce a willingness to do hard things, but faith can. The best thing the state can do is protect religious liberty and let churches flourish. Evangelization, she says as a scientist, is what moves the needle most.

Purpose, sacrifice, and vocation
The conversation turns to Kobe Bryant’s ethic of purpose overcoming sacrifice, and to a mother’s advice to her daughter that vocation matters more than career. Dr. Pakaluk explains why God-given talents and the gift of motherhood can never truly be in conflict. Bishop Joensen connects this to the paradox of the cross: in giving themselves, these women receive themselves back.

What’s next: the dads
Dr. Pakaluk has interviewed 53 fathers for a sequel to Hannah’s Children, now in progress and expected to come together heading into 2027.

Learn more at pakaluk.com

Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen airs weekly on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network and the Spirit Catholic Radio Network. Listen anytime at IowaCatholicRadio.com.

Support for Iowa Catholic Radio and Making It Personal is provided by Serra Vocations Ministry. Learn more at JoinSerra.org.

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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What does it look like when a whole nation's faith has been tested by war, occupation, and communism, and still stands? Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jeanne Thill welcome Jon Leonetti, Catholic speaker, author, and longtime Iowa Catholic Radio voice. Jon and the Bishop just returned from leading a pilgrimage to Poland with 50 pilgrims from Iowa and around the country.

Opening: Marriage, St. Faustina, and a thank-you

• Bishop Joensen thanks listeners for supporting the Iowa Catholic Radio fall fundraiser.
• He announces the return of diocesan anniversary Masses honoring married couples, whether they've been married 5, 10, 25, 50 years, or anywhere in between:
  • Sunday, Oct. 4: St. Peter Church, Council Bluffs
  • Saturday, Oct. 10: 4 p.m. Mass, St. Ambrose Cathedral, Des Moines
• For details, visit the Diocese of Des Moines: https://www.dmdiocese.org/?utm_source=Iowa%20Catholic%20Radio&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=Making%20It%20Personal
• Ahead of St. Faustina Kowalska's memorial on Monday, Oct. 5, the Bishop reads from her Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, on surrendering to God's will.

Warsaw: Faith that cost everything

• The pilgrimage began at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church with Mass and a visit honoring Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, the Solidarity priest martyred under communism.
• The group toured the Warsaw Rising Museum.
• At Victory Square, they recalled St. John Paul II's 1979 homily that helped spark the fall of communism.

St. Maximilian Kolbe before Auschwitz

• At Niepokalanów, the "City of the Immaculate," Jon reflects on meeting Kolbe as the tireless evangelist who used every available medium to spread the faith. His self-offering at Auschwitz was the fruit of a lifetime of preparation.

Our Lady of Czestochowa at Jasna Góra

• Married couples in the group reaffirmed their marriage vows before the miraculous image of the Queen of Poland.
• Jon shares the story of the night the group was nearly locked in the shrine.

From Auschwitz to Divine Mercy

• After a sobering, rain-soaked day at Auschwitz-Birkenau, including St. Maximilian Kolbe's starvation cell, the group went the next day to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Kraków-Łagiewniki.
• There, a sister of St. Faustina's own congregation led them in prayer at her tomb.

Wadowice, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and a pilgrimage of saints

• The group visited St. John Paul II's hometown museum and climbed the passion shrines of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
• The Bishop and Jon close by remembering St. Edith Stein, St. Hedwig, St. Stanislaus, and Blessed Stefan Wyszyński.

Learn more about Jon Leonetti and upcoming pilgrimages at https://jonleonetti.com/

Hear Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network, the Spirit Catholic Radio Network, and IowaCatholicRadio.com: https://iowacatholicradio.com/

Sponsor
Support for Iowa Catholic Radio and Making It Personal is provided by Serra Vocations Ministry, which works to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Learn more at https://joinserra.org/

#MakingItPersonal #BishopJoensen #JonLeonetti #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicPilgrimage #Poland #MaximilianKolbe #DivineMercy #StFaustina #JohnPaulII #OurLadyOfCzestochowa #JasnaGora #Auschwitz #CatholicPodcast #CatholicMarriage #Catholic #CatholicFaith #DioceseOfDesMoines

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More from Iowa Catholic Radio:

• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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It's Christ Our Life weekend! Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jeanne Thill visit with Ellen Miller and Marilyn Lane, the co-founders and co-chairs of the Christ Our Life Catholic Conference. They talk on the morning the ninth biennial conference opens at Casey's Center in downtown Des Moines.

Bishop's Calendar
Bishop Joensen previews a busy stretch. The priests of the Diocese of Des Moines hold their annual workshop in Iowa City, focused on evangelization and led by Very Rev. PJ McManus, Vicar of Evangelization and Mission. Diocese of Des Moines seminarian Connor Lynch will be ordained a deacon at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on Thursday, October 1, the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The following weekend, the diocese hosts a regional gathering of diocesan attorneys. Bishop Joensen also reflects on his recent Poland pilgrimage, including the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Mass with the Carmelite sisters nearby. Next week's show will look more closely at that pilgrimage.

Two Years in the Making
Ellen and Marilyn describe the two-year planning cycle behind each conference, from committee meetings to the final details. They also explain how speakers are chosen, with input from the committee and board, to reach every age and stage of faith. Since the first conference in 2010, Christ Our Life has grown into a gathering of thousands.

2026 Speakers

• Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop of New York, known for his ministry to young people, who will also lead a meditation during Saturday adoration
• Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, returning to speak on his research into near-death experiences
• Sister Medhin Tesfay of Ethiopia, who will speak on faith through war, hardship, and forgiveness, and on her work with Mary's Meals
• Charbel Raish of Australia, founder of Parousia Media and author of How Islam Led Me Back to Christ
• Crystalina Evert of Women Made New Ministries, who will address the main arena and a breakout for young women
• Gabriel Castillo, host of the "Children of Mary" podcast, who will speak to young men
• Chris Stefanick, founder of Real Life Catholic
• Bishop William Joensen, giving the homily at Saturday morning Mass

Music and Worship
Steve Angrisano returns to lead praise and worship. Father David Michael Moses joins from Texas, and Father Max Carson serves as emcee. Emily Schmid directs a choir of about 30 voices for both conference Masses.

Youth Breakout
In its second year, the free high school and college breakout brings main-stage speakers back for more intimate sessions with young people. Free pizza is included.

Sacraments at the Center
The weekend includes Mass, confession available through the afternoon and evening, and Saturday evening Eucharistic adoration in the darkened arena. Before setup began, a team prayed the rosary around Casey's Center and blessed it with holy water and holy salt. About 66 vendors and exhibitors line the concourse.

How to Join

• When: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 2026
• Where: Casey's Center, 233 Center Street, Des Moines, IA 50309
• Tickets: $30 per adult for the two-day pass, in person or livestream. Ages 23 and under attend free, but registration is still required.
• Livestream: Visit the Christ Our Life website and select "Buy a ticket now" or "I already have a ticket." Past livestreams have reached viewers in as many as 14 countries.
• Sunday Mass: Open to all at no charge. Doors open around 12:15 p.m., and Mass begins about 12:30 p.m.
• Phone: 866-206-3303

Learn more and get tickets at ChristOurLifeIowa.com

View the full conference schedule: ChristOurLifeIowa.com/schedule

Hear Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network, the Spirit Catholic Radio Network, and IowaCatholicRadio.com

#ChristOurLife #ChristOurLifeIowa #CatholicConference #MakingItPersonal #BishopJoensen #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicPodcast #DesMoines #Iowa #CatholicIowa #Eucharist #EucharisticAdoration #Confession #CatholicYouth #MarysMeals #FrSpitzer #ChrisStefanick #BishopEspaillat #CrystalinaEvert #CatholicFaith #Evangelization

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Segment 1 — Poland: Auschwitz, Divine Mercy and the Saints of the Darkest Night

Bishop William Joensen opens from the road, reflecting on the Diocese of Des Moines pilgrimage to Poland with Catholic speaker and author Jon Leonetti. The group visited Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II–Birkenau, where the Bishop recalls St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) — the Jewish philosopher drawn to the Church through the writings of St. Teresa of Ávila, who entered Carmel and was deported to Birkenau. He shares her words on souls united to God, and quotes St. John Paul II kneeling at what the pontiff called the Golgotha of the modern world. The following day brought the group to the Divine Mercy Shrine of St. Faustina in Kraków-Łagiewniki and the neighboring "Have No Fear!" St. John Paul II Centre, where the cassock worn during the 1981 assassination attempt is displayed. He asks prayers for Pope Leo, and for all listeners across the Iowa Catholic Radio Network and Spirit Catholic Radio Network.

Learn more about the pilgrimage at jonleonetti.com/poland

Segment 2 — Shane Vander Hart: A Fool for Christ, and a Slogan Worth Questioning

Shane Vander Hart is the founder of 4:15 Communications, a Des Moines marketing and PR firm named for Ephesians 4:15 — speaking the truth in love. He founded and edited Caffeinated Thoughts and The Iowa Torch, and his work has appeared in the Des Moines Register, POLITICO, The Hill, Daily Caller and Fox News.

He tells Bishop Joensen about a childhood in a United Methodist church, drifting from faith, and a sophomore-year search at Drake University that ended in his dorm room in 1992 — on April Fool's Day. "I became a fool for Christ on April Fool's Day."

The conversation turns to his article, "The Problem with 'No Public Money for Private Schools'" — a response to a slogan appearing in Iowa campaign messaging and, he notes, painted on barns. His argument: the principle is never applied consistently. Public dollars flow to private providers in health care, food assistance, housing and higher education — the GI Bill and Pell Grants among them. He points to Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state need not subsidize private education, but once it does, it cannot disqualify schools solely because they are religious — a ruling that Justice Alito tied to nineteenth-century Blaine amendments, which were often motivated by anti-Catholic bias. The First Amendment Encyclopedia

His preferred framing: fund students, not systems. He is emphatic that school choice is not an attack on public education — most Iowa students will be educated in public schools, and he wants them to flourish. He also notes that open enrollment between public districts is used by a large share of families and rarely makes headlines.

Read the article: iowaace.org
Learn more at ShaneVanderHart.com and 415communications.com

Segment 3 — ESAs Explained: Not Vouchers, and the Accountability Question

Vander Hart draws the distinction listeners most often get wrong: an education savings account is not a voucher. With a voucher, funding generally moves from the state directly to a school from an approved list. With an ESA, funds are deposited into an account the parent controls; in Iowa, nonpublic tuition is paid first, and remaining approved expenses — books, online courses, educational therapies, band equipment — must go through approved vendors in the ESA marketplace.

Program facts, verified:

• Iowa's Students First Act was signed into law January 24, 2023; all Iowa resident K-12 students are eligible regardless of income beginning with the 2025-26 school year, and the 2026-27 award amount is $8,148 per student, held in an account for tuition, fees and other qualified expenses. Iowa Department of Education
• Public districts continue receiving state funding for students they educate, plus approximately $1,205 per pupil for students who live in the district but attend a private school. Iowa Governor
• Iowa nonpublic schools have two accreditation paths: general accreditation by the state through a comprehensive site visit, or independent accreditation through a state-approved accrediting agency, and the state board maintains a list of at least six approved regional or national nonprofit accrediting agencies. Iowa Department of EducationIowa Legislature

He also disputes that ESAs caused tuition increases: nonpublic tuition was already rising under a funding model that capped enrollment growth, and demand now means more classrooms, more teachers and better pay. Bishop Joensen notes the Des Moines Catholic school region is currently undergoing an audit by a licensed public accounting agency — accountability, he says, is already built in. He also references the state's teacher pay law; under the 2024 law, salaries for new teachers must be at least $50,000 effective July 1, 2025, a benchmark diocesan schools can now compete with. Ahlerslaw

Vander Hart, who homeschooled his three children in Indiana while serving as a youth pastor, says his advocacy predates his current roles with the Iowa Association of Christian Schools and the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. He worships at Cottage Grove Church in Des Moines, which does not operate a school.

Learn more at iowaace.org • iowachristianschools.org • cottagegrovedsm.com
Iowa ESA program details: educate.iowa.gov

Also mentioned

Christ Our Life Catholic Conference — Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, at Casey's Center (formerly Wells Fargo Arena), 233 Center St., Des Moines. All-weekend in-person and livestream passes are $30 for adults; youth ages 23 and under are free. Learn more at ChristOurLifeIowa.com DioSCG

Diocese of Des Moines Catholic Schools — 16 schools serving roughly 6,600 students. Learn more at dmdiocese.org/catholic-schools

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• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

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• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Segment 1 — Diocesan news and a Poland pilgrimage

Bishop Joensen opens with an update on the water main break that flooded the Bishop's Celebration of Education just as keynote speaker Father Ross Caniglia was being introduced. Water poured into the downtown facility at depths of six to twelve inches. No one was injured, but the damage is considerable and repairs are expected to take six months or more. Father Caniglia has been invited to return next year.

The Bishop then previews his departure for Warsaw, where he and Catholic speaker and broadcaster Jon Leonetti will lead a pilgrimage of about 55 people through Poland. The group's first stop is St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Żoliborz district, home to the tomb of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko — the Solidarity chaplain martyred in 1984 at age 37 for defending workers' rights under the Communist regime, and beatified in 2010. Bishop Joensen recounts Popiełuszko's defense of himself as "a simple witness of Jesus Christ," and notes the pilgrims will pray at his grave, where the surrounding stones are laid out in the form of a rosary.

There's also a nod to the Cy-Hawk game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City that evening — Iowa favored by roughly 13.5 over Iowa State in Jimmy Rogers' first season as Cyclones head coach. Kickoff lands at 2:30 a.m. Warsaw time, so the Bishop is skipping it.

Segment 2 — Fr. Nick Smith: family, dementia, and the dignity of life

Fr. Nick Smith is pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Perry, where he's beginning his second year, and took on the role of Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Des Moines this July. Ordained four years ago, he has served at Our Lady's Immaculate Heart in Ankeny and Christ the King in Des Moines, and is bilingual in Spanish and English. St. Patrick also operates a parish school.

The heart of the segment is his grandmother Virginia, who lived near the family through her decline from Alzheimer's and died three years ago on August 28, the feast of St. Augustine. Two days after that anniversary, his mother Sue's op-ed appeared in the Des Moines Sunday Register — a response to an earlier guest essay by a Des Moines man who chose to end his life abroad rather than live with Alzheimer's. Fr. Smith describes the caregiving years without romanticizing them: not glamorous, not mystical, often difficult. What he took from it was that a person's worth is not tied to what they can produce. "We are valued as human beings before we're valued for anything we can produce." He credits his grandmother's prayers, and her devotion to the Mass and the rosary, with his own vocation.

Asked whether that experience shaped his ministry to the homebound and to care facilities, Fr. Smith names a fear many priests and pastoral ministers carry — that they have nothing to offer. His spiritual director's answer stayed with him: you bring them Christ. He frames the task not as removing another person's cross but as refusing to let them carry it in isolation. Bishop Joensen, drawing on his own years as a care-facility chaplain, calls that accompaniment precious.

Segment 3 — Two brothers, two vocations

Fr. Smith is the oldest of seven children, raised in a strong Catholic family with Catholic education throughout. He began seriously considering the priesthood in high school, drawn by the Eucharist, daily Mass, confession, and Eucharistic adoration — and by the realization that a priest stands in a unique relationship to that sacrament.

His younger brother Noah went to Marquette University in Milwaukee, encountered the Jesuit community there, and was drawn to its communal life. Noah Smith, S.J., is now in his fourth year of Jesuit formation, professed, and studying philosophy at Fordham University in New York. Bishop Joensen notes his own graduate school classmate, Fr. Christopher Cullen, S.J., teaches philosophy at Fordham. Fr. Smith's observation: the path by which a man first comes to know the Lord deeply often shapes the form of priesthood he's drawn toward.

Segment 4 — How discernment actually works, and how to start

Fr. Smith leans on the wisdom of the rest of the vocations team — Father Ross Parker, Director of Seminarians and pastor of St. Augustin in Des Moines; Father Reed Flood; and Father Max Carson. He credits Cathy Jordan, the diocese's vocation specialist, as integral to the team. The Serra Clubs of Council Bluffs and Des Moines are thanked for their material and spiritual support of seminarians.

The men with the deepest roots, he says, typically come from families where the Catholic faith is genuinely practiced, and arrive with an existing appreciation for the sacraments, the teaching of the Church, adoration, and the rosary. Typical first contact is a one-on-one meeting to hear a man's story and get a sense of where he is.

How to reach the Vocations Office

• Email Fr. Nick Smith: [email protected]
• Call the Vocations Office: 515-237-5050
• Learn more at https://www.dmdiocese.org/vocations

Andrew Dinner — Tuesday, October 6, 2026

• 5:30 p.m., Basilica of St. John, 1915 University Ave., Des Moines
• Prayer followed by dinner hosted by the Knights of Columbus
• Open to men high school age and older
• Priests and Bishop Joensen will speak about priestly life; Bishop Joensen confirms on air that he's "all in"

Fr. Smith encourages even ambivalent men to come. If the thought of the priesthood occurs to a young man at all in this culture, he takes that as a sign of God's action — and the greater tragedy, he says, is spending a life wondering whether the Lord was opening a door. Asked about age, he names roughly 18 to 35 as typical, while noting the Lord can call a second vocation at any stage. Three men have newly entered formation for the diocese this year, ranging from age 19 to a 33-year-old trial attorney working in the Des Moines metro.

Fr. Smith also hosts The Daily Gospel Reflection on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network.

Learn more at https://www.dmdiocese.org/vocations and https://www.IowaCatholicRadio.com/

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
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• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jeanne Thill welcome Connor Lynch, seminarian for the Diocese of Des Moines and a son of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianola, who is studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Connor is set to be ordained a transitional deacon on October 1, and this conversation catches him on the cusp of it.

Bishop's Opening — Labor Day Weekend and the Week Ahead

Bishop Joensen opens with a Labor Day reflection on the dignity of work, giving thanks for tradesmen, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and linemen, along with teachers and students two weeks into the new school year. He notes several diocesan events on the calendar:

The Bishop closes the segment on St. Teresa of Calcutta, reading from her private correspondence on the interior darkness she carried for decades — the hidden cross that became, as he puts it, the very spring of her sanctity.

Segment Two — Cynicism, Wisdom, and the Turn

Connor talks about returning to Rome as a senior brother to fellow Des Moines seminarians, including Michael Posegate, and about showing them the city's churches, shrines, and coffee bars. He names honestly the arc many seminarians travel: initial wonder, then a season of cynicism after his first year in Rome, then a turn toward wisdom.

What made the turn possible, he says, was relationship — coming to know his formation faculty as people and building real friendships with his brother seminarians. Cynicism, in his framing, objectifies an institution; friendship restores the persons within it. Asked by the Bishop to define wisdom, Connor points to humility, a conscientious grasp of the human condition, and words that land as true because they are lived rather than abstract.

Segment Two (cont.) — The Call

Connor recounts a high school marked by soccer, his parents' hobby farm, and passing considerations of ag engineering, nursing, and the Air Force Academy. The first real jolt came when Father Chris Fontanini asked whether he had considered the priesthood — a question that, in Connor's words, rang through him like a bell. He ran from it spiritually for a couple of years.

The turning point came on a mission trip to El Paso with STAT (St. Thomas Aquinas Teens), where the theme was God's Will for Your Life. Connor asked God for a sign and received an overwhelming experience of love at Mass the next day. When he spoke it aloud in his small group, the weight lifted. Over that week, ten to fifteen people independently asked him whether he'd thought about becoming a priest. Father Reed Flood was on the trip and coached him through making the phone call home.

He also describes the value of manual labor — bagging groceries and working the bottle room at Hy-Vee, night stocking shelves, and a summer hauling concrete for a demolition crew in Ankeny alongside his cousin. Tangible work, tangible change.

Segment Two (cont.) — Ordination Details

The ordination will be an evening Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, celebrated at the Holy Spirit window, a newer custom for the North American College. Connor describes rounding the main altar afterward to find the basilica empty — an experience unlike any other. Eighteen men total will be ordained. Family, friends, and a diocesan pilgrimage group are expected to attend. Diocesan priests will be gathered for their annual workshop in Iowa City that day and will lift Connor up at Mass.

Segment Three — Remembering Alex

Connor speaks about his brother Alex Lynch, who battled cancer from age 16 and died May 8, 2026, at 23, at the family's farm home in Indianola. Alex graduated from Indianola High School, earned an Eagle Scout rank, and completed a finance degree from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas — receiving his diploma in a special ceremony less than a day before his death. His Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas in Indianola.

Connor shares the family's conviction that God was working through Alex's illness: a cousin estranged from the family reached out to reconcile at the very hour Alex's first biopsy confirmed cancer. He describes a brotherhood that deepened through the disease — days spent beside Alex's hospital bed, shoulder massages Alex insisted on giving to relieve Connor's stress, and repeated occasions when Connor, in Rome or at seminary, felt an unaccountable weight on his heart, called home, and found Alex struggling. He calls the bond spiritual and Eucharistic.

The Bishop notes there is more to the story — Connor's return home for Alex's final days and the support of the Benedictine College community under President Stephen Minnis — and invites him back to tell it another time. Connor begins studies in moral theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce) this fall.

Learn more about vocations in the Diocese of Des Moines: dmdiocese.org/vocations

Learn more about the Pontifical North American College: pnac.org

Listen to Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen every week on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network and the Spirit Catholic Radio Network, or stream anytime at IowaCatholicRadio.com

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• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
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• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

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Bishop Joensen and Jeanne Thill open with high school football underway across the diocese — Valley and Dowling played the night before — and September weather moving in. The Bishop previews the Bishop's Celebration of Education, held that evening at the Catholic Pastoral Center in downtown Des Moines, lifting up all 16 Catholic schools in the diocese alongside the Catholic Tuition Organization (CTO). Father Ross Caniglia is the evening's honored speaker.

The Bishop also runs through his week: confirmations at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianola and Sacred Heart Parish in West Des Moines; a deanery gathering of priests at St. Edward Church in Afton, near Creston; another deanery meeting at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Atlantic; and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd programs underway there and at St. Mary Parish in Shenandoah, where Father Jason Lee is pastor. He shares a lunch conversation with Bishop Ambrose Puthenveettil of the Diocese of Kottapuram in Kerala, India, and notes the Dowling Catholic All-School Mass, where students recognized Father David Polich on his 50th anniversary of ordination — Father Polich was ordained for the Diocese of Des Moines in 1976.

On the memorials of Saints Monica and Augustine, Bishop Joensen reflects on Monica's wisdom despite little formal education, and her consolation for parents whose children have wandered from the faith: those who are seeking and have not yet found are not without God. He closes the segment with Augustine on preaching — that the words of any preacher sound empty unless the inner Master, Christ himself, is teaching within the listener.

Segment two: Council Bluffs, weather, and a chalkboard forecast

Father Caniglia was born in 1988 and raised in Council Bluffs, one of four children, including an identical twin brother now living in the Omaha area. His mother worked as a nurse; his father practiced law in Council Bluffs. Both parents remain active in their parish and in Serra vocations work. His parents, Phil and Rena, are described by Bishop Joensen as pillars of the faith in the Council Bluffs community.

His mother — a former All-State violinist who grew up in Boone — introduced him to the family piano, which had come from his grandmother's house. He sang in show choir and concert choir at St. Albert in Council Bluffs under a longtime Council Bluffs music teacher who had built the vocal program from the ground up, and he continued piano lessons through college.

The weather obsession started in fifth grade, watching WOWT 6 News in Omaha. He kept a chalkboard in his bedroom, drew Iowa and Nebraska with fronts and high-pressure symbols, and delivered forecasts to his patient parents. Classmates asked him for snow-day predictions. After graduating from Creighton University in 2010, he went storm chasing with a graduate student and watched a large tornado pass roughly a quarter mile away.

He worked as a television meteorologist in Sioux City from 2010 to 2013, hired into the weekend weather shift while also doing news reporting midweek and filling in on weekday shows. He explains the newsroom hierarchy — weekday evenings first, weekday mornings second, weekends last — and notes that weather has migrated to the top of newscasts because ratings show it is the number one reason people tune in.

The voice injury and the turn toward God

Late in his senior year of high school, after years of heavy singing, Father Caniglia developed voice issues affecting both speaking and singing. He describes it plainly as a season of suffering — physical and mental — that carried into college and left him unable to sing as he once could. He still deals with it to a degree today. The disruption cracked open the plan he thought he had: meteorology, settled and certain. In its place came questions about God's existence, the purpose of life, and what he was actually for.

Segment three: Augustine at Creighton, Trinity Heights, and seminary

The turn came in a philosophy class at Creighton, where he read Augustine's Confessions as a sophomore — a spiritual awakening he credits as the impetus for taking a possible priestly vocation seriously. Bishop Joensen shares his own connection: he once led a January-term course to Sicily and Rome, always stopping at Ostia to read aloud, from a window ledge, the passage where Monica and Augustine speak of ultimate things and Monica sets aside her fear of death.

Living and working in Sioux City shaped which diocese was calling him. He points to the example of good preaching and evident love for the faith among the priests around him, including Father Gary Snyder, and to his parents' steady insistence on doing the small things and persevering. A turning point came at Trinity Heights in Sioux City, where a colleague from the television station — someone who had drifted from his faith — first brought him. The beauty of the place moved him, and he asked someone there for the name of a spiritual director. He entered seminary in 2013.

Bishop Joensen offers a direct invitation to listeners: if that Augustinian restlessness is stirring in your own heart, it may be God inviting you toward priesthood, religious life, or another form of service to God's people.

Composing the Mass of the Epiphany

Father Caniglia composes as time and inspiration allow, usually beginning from a text — scriptural, or from the Church's own liturgical texts — and then finding chords and vocal lines at the piano. His Mass of the Epiphany, published by GIA Publications, began by accident while he was practicing for a Mass in seminary and a melody surfaced out of a music theory exercise. It took six years to complete, and was his first composition. Bishop Joensen praises the brass writing in the Great Doxology.

Learn more about Father Caniglia's Mass setting at GIAmusic.com

Diocese of Sioux City: scdiocese.org

Diocese of Des Moines: dmdiocese.org

Catholic Tuition Organization: ctoiowa.org

Listen anytime at IowaCatholicRadio.com

Making It Personal with Bishop William Joensen is made possible by Serra Vocations Ministry, and by the Serra Clubs of Central Iowa and Council Bluffs — whose prayers, witness, and encouragement continue to bear fruit in vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and the diaconate.

Learn more at JoinSerra.org

#CatholicPodcast #Vocations #CatholicPriest #BishopJoensen #IowaCatholicRadio #MakingItPersonal #DioceseOfDesMoines #DioceseOfSiouxCity #CatholicMusic #SacredMusic #MassSetting #Meteorologist #StormChasing #SaintAugustine #SaintMonica #CatholicEducation #CatholicSchools #Discernment #CatholicConversion #Priesthood #CouncilBluffs #CreightonUniversity #IowaCatholic #SerraClub #CatholicRadio

Listen Live · Program Schedule · Our Stations

LINKS

You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok! More on our website.

If you would like to support Iowa Catholic Radio you can donate Here!

More from Iowa Catholic Radio:

• Sunday Dive with Katie Patrizio
• Man Up! with Joe Stopulos
• Catholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie Nelson
• The Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud Marr
• Be Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce Riebe
• Be Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián Moncada
• Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen
• Faith and Family Finance with Gregory Waddle
• The Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos
  

Liturgy & Devotions

• The Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick Smith
• The Daily Mass from St. Francis of Assisi
• The Daily Mass from St. Pius X
• The Daily Mass from St. Theresa
• Sunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint John

Want to support your favorite show? Click Here

Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ

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