Like other American dioceses, the area that makes up the present diocese was under the jurisdiction of a number of prelates. Most of these were purely academic because of no actual Catholic presence in the area. In the 19th century, the area came under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Saint LouisJoseph Rosati. It was under his jurisdiction that the first permanent Catholic presence came to what would be the state of Iowa. In 1838, the Diocese of Dubuque was founded. Initially, the area of the Dubuque Diocese included all of Iowa, as well as a large part of the western United States. By 1850 the Diocese's territory came to cover the state of Iowa. Bishop John Hennessey soon came to believe that the southern half of the state would be better served by its own Diocese. While he envisioned Des Moines as the See City for this new diocese, on May 8, 1881, the southern half of Iowa was taken from the Dubuque Diocese and formed into the new Diocese of Davenport. For just over 30 years the area that now makes up the Des Moines Diocese was part of the Diocese of Davenport. Territory was then taken from the Diocese of Davenport on August 12, 1911, to form the Diocese of Des Moines. The territory that was taken to form the Davenport Diocese is the current territory of the Diocese. When the Des Moines Diocese was established, Saint Ambrose Parish church became the cathedral for the new diocese.
Reports of sex abuse
In January 2015, Pope Francis laicized Diocese of Des Moines priest Howard Fitzgerald, who was accused of committing acts of sex abuse. Fitzgerald had previously been placed on administrative leave in 2014. On March 20, 2020, It was announced that well-known Catholic priest and professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University Rev. Robert L. "Bud" Grant, was suspended from teaching and practicing ministry after a sex abuse allegation surfaced The alleged sex abuse was committed during his time in the Diocese of Des Moines' St. Albert High School in Council Bluffs, where he Grant served as a teacher and coach, in the early 1990s and was reported to church officials after the victim reached out to sex abuse advocates. However, the statute of limitations in Iowa prevented the victim from pursuing criminal charges against Grant. He later was employed by the Diocese of Davenport as a theology professor at Davenport's St. Ambrose University and as the sacramental minister for the St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass. Following the sex abuse allegations, it was announced that Grant will be suspended from St. Ambrose University and public ministry until at least the time the Diocese of Des Moines completes its investigation of him.
