Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, I want to speak to you from my heart — as your archbishop and fellow disciple — about something important for the future of our Church here in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Over the past several months, we have taken a close look at where we are as an archdiocesan family. We have gathered data on sacramental life, parish finances, geography, and demographics. We have reviewed the archdiocesan results of the 2022 synod. In addition, more than 22,000 of you completed the Disciple Maker Index survey this past winter — offering honest, heartfelt reflections on your parish and your faith life. Thank you! Your voice matters deeply to me.

But I want to talk to you about more than simply numbers and charts and surveys. I want to pay attention to the movement of the Holy Spirit — and to consider how we, together, respond to what God wants to do in our time and place. I want to prayerfully plan for the future — a future where our parishes are driven by our mission, faithful to the Gospel, and equipped to form disciples.

I hear your desire to respond to our challenges. I, too, recognize them — inadequate staffing, limited financial resources, inconsistent formation, changing demographics. I am committed to proactively addressing these challenges with you.

Based on a careful review of what I heard from our archdiocesan family, we will move forward together with three priorities: Evangelization, Leadership Formation, and Pastoral Planning.

Centering our efforts on these priorities underscores our commitment to our core values of prayer, worship, charity, and life-long learning.

We are embarking on a process called Journey in Faith, which will be rooted in synodal listening, dialogue, and discernment. On our journey, I want to continue to hear from you — your hopes, your concerns, your ideas. 

During the next year, we will engage, together, in pastoral planning — discerning how we will move from simply maintaining our present frameworks and systems, towards developing a more mission-focused network of parishes. Key parish leaders will help facilitate the process at your local parish. Your parish priests will walk with you on this journey. And there will be opportunities — real, meaningful opportunities — for every Catholic to offer feedback.

This journey in faith is not about simply maintaining the Church — it is about renewing it, together, for the sake of our mission. It is about building a Church that is viable and vibrant not just for today, but for generations to come. 

I believe — with all my heart — that the Holy Spirit is sending us on this journey. That you have a role to play. That the process will be challenging, but ultimately fruitful. And that if we walk together on this journey with courage, with faith, and with love  — we can renew our Church.

So I invite you: Please come with me. Let’s Journey in Faith. And let’s invite the Holy Spirit to guide us.

May God bless you, and may God bless the Archdiocese of Dubuque.