Msgr. Bognanno Celebrates 60 Years as a Priest
May 22, 2025
Divine Providence is God’s extraordinary intervention in our lives.
As Monsignor Frank Bognanno prepares to celebrate his 60th ordination anniversary on June 6, he says he didn’t have a grand plan for his priestly life other than to serve where God and his bishop planted him.
He believes any success he’s achieved is due to the intricate workings of God’s constant guidance and care.
Msgr. Bognanno said every major accomplishment in his life clearly came because of God’s divine providence. For example, in coordinating Pope John Paul II’s Iowa visit in 1979, he had only six weeks to form and lead a team to welcome him safely and reverently to Living History Farms. Some 350,000 of the faithful gathered for this historic outdoor Mass in an endeavor that united city, state, federal, and religious leaders.
Even though he would never wish for cancer, that journey led him in 2012 to climb 19,341 feet up Mt. Kilimanjaro with Dr. Richard Deming’s organization Above & Beyond Cancer. Since Msgr. Bognanno had been a triathlete, his training allowed him to experience this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, in which he celebrated Mass each day of climbing, another opportunity to evangelize.
While in Tanzania, Msgr. Bognanno met the local bishop, who told him of the thousands of school children who die annually due to contaminated water. Upon returning to Des Moines, he and fellow Christ the King parishioners created the Purify Project, which to date has installed 50 water filter systems at schools there. He’s been told the rate of sickness among the children has been cut in half.
He continues to support this nonprofit as author of Three Minutes with God, Reflections to Inspire, Encourage, and Motivate, which has sold more than 14,000 copies. The book, released in 2022, is based on daily reflections he’s written and taped for WHO-TV as well as a local radio station, Star 102.5. Franciscan Media collected the content from 260 of his recordings while he added a Scripture reading and a prayer for each one.
Early in his priesthood, he hosted an EWTN-TV show for a decade and wrote the Emmaus spirituality program for priests. The training was conducted in 104 dioceses in the United States as well as in Canada and England.
Over the years, he’s served as a pastor or associate at six parishes.
Like many other retired priests, he stays busy. He assists at St. Thomas Aquinas in Indianola and is spiritual director for the Christ Our Life steering committee, which holds a conference every two years.
He holds book signings to benefit the Purify Project at fish fry Fridays in Lent, at local bookstores, and other locations.
He invites everyone to celebrate with him on Friday, June 6 with noon Mass at St. Augustin in Des Moines followed by a reception in the parish center.