Pope Francis has accepted the retirement request for Sioux City Catholic Diocese Bishop Walter Nickless. Bishop Nickless has served Sioux City since 2006 and says he submitted his request for retirement in May of 2022 as is required when you turn 75.

Father David Esquiliano, who serves as the judicial vicar of the diocese, and pastor of Cathedral Parish, said in an article written in Lumen Media that the Pope will accept Bishop Nickless’s resignation when he is able to appoint a new bishop.

Pope Francis has appointed the Rev. John Keehner, a priest of the Diocese of Youngstown, as the eighth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa.

The Diocese of Sioux City introduced its next bishop, Bishop-elect John Edward Keehner of Ohio, during a press conference this (Wednesday) morning. The diocese announced on Feb. 12 that Pope Francis had selected Fr.