Bishop William M. Joensen

The Most Rev. William M. Joensen, Ph.D., was ordained and installed in 2019 as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines.

Born in 1960, Bishop Joensen received a B.S. (Zoology) from Iowa State University in 1982, then completed seminary studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dubuque in 1989. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 2001. He has served in parishes, as spiritual director at St. Pius X Seminary in Dubuque and in a variety of roles at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. 

Bishop Joensen in the Media

Bishop Joensen writes a regular column for The Catholic Mirror and hosts a weekly radio show on Iowa Catholic Radio.

Committees and Boards

• Chair, Higher Education Working Group, USCCB Committee on Catholic Education 
• Member, Board of Directors, Mercy College of Health Sciences
• Chair, Iowa Catholic Conference
• Member, Board of Directors, Biking for Babies
• Member, USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

Organizations

• Knights of Columbus, 4^th Degree
• Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Knight Commander with Star