Bishop to perform milestone anniversary masses in October

by Diocese of Des Moines | September 22, 2026

Bishop William Joensen will perform two milestone anniversary masses in October.

The two masses will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Council Bluffs on Saturday, October 4, at noon; and at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines on Saturday, October 10, at 4 p.m. These masses will honor married couples celebrating a milestone anniversary of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50-plus years of marriage, and all are invited to attend.  

Justin White, marriage and family life director for the Diocese of Des Moines, said the purpose of the masses are to honor the couples participating in the sacrament of marriage.

“Generally, in our society, we’re told that it’s not doable or not worth it,” White said. “We have a societal approach towards marriage that says, ‘At some point if it’s too tough, just stop, just go do something else. Just go be with someone else.’ And having folks who are able to stand and witness to standing the test of time is incredibly valuable because it shows that societal lie.”

White said that the milestone masses help to spotlight models of long-lasting, loving marriages.

“These masses are so that the couples themselves can be honored, but also so the community can see ongoing witnesses to the value of marriage, the importance of marriage, examples of folks leaving their marriage, and a testament to the fact that it’s not always easy, but it’s certainly worth doing,” he said. “I think if we’re going to stand here with a national divorce rate of fifty percent, well then, we should be doing all we can to honor the fifty percent that aren’t.”

Couples celebrating one of these milestone anniversaries who will be in attendance are asked to register ahead of time so that reserved seating can be made available, as well as a certificate of blessing. The registry can be found here.