Pope names Dubuque’s Joensen as D.M. bishop
Dubuque priest William Joensen has been named to succeed Richard E. Pates as bishop of the Des Moines Diocese of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis appointed Joensen, a 59-year-old Waterloo native who was ordained in the Dubuque Archdiocese in 1989. Joensen attended seminary at Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America. Pates, now 76, submitted his resignation, as required in February 2018 when he turned 75, but continued to serve. Pates, named by Pope Benedict XVI, became the ninth bishop in Des Moines in 2008.