The Diocese of Sioux City has announced Pope Francis has accepted a retirement request from Bishop R. Walker Nickless and selected Fr. John Keehner of the Diocese of Youngstown to serve as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City. The appointment was announced ahead of a 10 a.m. press conference scheduled for this (Wednesday) morning at the diocesan offices, which will be live-streamed on the diocesan YouTube channel, a link to which is included with this story on our website. Fr. Keehner is a Youngstown, Ohio, native who was ordained a priest in 1993 by Bishop James Malone at St. Columba Cathedral. He currently serves as dean of Ashtabula County, Ohio, and pastor of four parishes in the Diocese of Youngstown: Our Lady of Peace Parish in Ashtabula, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Geneva, Corpus Christi Parish in Conneaut, and St. Andrew Bobola Parish in Sheffield. Keehner will be ordained as the Sioux City Diocese bishop on May 1 at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. Bishop Nickless has led the Diocese of Sioux City since January 2006. Nearly 20 percent of the approximately 455,000 people who live within the diocese’s boundaries are Catholic.
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