ABOUT JASON COLLINS & KELLY MESCHER COLLINS
Kelly Mescher Collins and Jason Collins at the Pantheon in Rome.
Jason Collins has been a member of St. Francis Parish since moving to West
Des Moines in 2006 from Omaha, where he received his BA and MA in Theology
from Creighton University.
(See the many presentations Jason has given at St. Francis here.)
He immediately became involved at St. Francis of Assisi. He is an active
member of the Knights of Columbus (Fourth Degree) and has been involved with
the parish’s Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, otherwise known as RCIA, for nearly 15 years helping people understand Church teachings and enter into the Catholic Church.
Jason Collins at Julius Caesar's tomb.
He is a past member of the Adult Faith Formation Council at St. Francis and is a board member at Emmaus House, a Catholic spiritual center in Des Moines. Jason was also involved with YCAF and the FISH Youth Group for years at St. Francis Parish.
While attending St. Francis’ young adult Bible study, he met his future wife, Kelly. They were married in 2010.
One of Jason’s lifelong dreams was finally realized in 2009 when Jason planned a pilgrimage to Rome with Kelly and some family members. In 2011, Jason helped to organize another pilgrimage to Fatima, Rome and Assisi with a small group of friends and St. Francis parishioners.
Jason explaining a feature at Palatine Hill in Rome to friends.
Jason continued to research Roman history, both secular and Christian,
over the next few years while continuing to volunteer at St. Francis. This research
culminated in three sessions that Jason has taught for the last four years to the
RCIA participants and members of the parish on the Catholic Church and Roman
History.
(Read Jason's blog posts here to get insights and tips on Rome!)
In 2017, Jason and Kelly returned to Europe with a priest friend to Paris, Avignon, and Lourdes.
By July 2017, Jason and Kelly had formed their company with the goal of
taking pilgrims to Rome and other Western Europe pilgrimage sites. Jason
believes that studying history, visiting important Christian sites and praying and
meditating at these sites helps us become better Christians and deepen our
relationship with Jesus. It also offers the life-changing opportunity to experience
and participate in another culture – which is immeasurable.
Jason has been working at HyVee for nearly 30 years. He works at the HyVee Technology Center in Grimes.
He was born and raised in the Quad Cities in Milan, Illinois. He attended Catholic grade school and Alleman Catholic High School. In his free time, Jason enjoys reading, volunteering at church and cheering on the Creighton Bluejays, Chicago Cubs, the Fighting Illini and the Chicago Bears. He also enjoys Star Trek, Star Wars, and trying new wines and craft beers.
Kelly Mescher Collins at the Vatican Museum in Rome.
Kelly Mescher Collins shares her husband Jason's passion for history, travel and adventure and will be joining him on some of the pilgrimages. Her Catholic faith and personal relationship with Jesus are of the utmost importance to her.
Jason calls Kelly the "marketing extraordinaire," as she creates and designs all of the marketing pieces, itineraries and social media posts. She also produces and edits all of the videos for Collins Travel and Pilgrimages. She even built this website! Kelly is the social butterfly of the two, and enjoys chatting, getting to know and joking around with everyone on our Incredible Journeys of Faith and Adventure. She also loves planning fun reunions with past pilgrimage participants. Kelly will be joining Jason on all future pilgrimages.
Kelly is the Director of Evangelization for Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines, Iowa. Previously, she served as multimedia journalist for the Diocese of Des Moines for nearly 11 years, writing columns and stories for The Catholic Mirror, creating, producing and editing videos for social media, and designing graphics. Kelly also produced and co-hosted "Making it Personal with Bishop Joensen" and "In the Heartland with Bishop Pates," heard on Iowa Catholic Radio and the Spirit Catholic Radio Network.
In her free time she enjoys running, reading, spending time with family and friends and is a fan of the Iowa State Cyclones.
Kelly grew up on a farm near Halbur, Iowa with eight siblings and attended Catholic grade school and Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University and her master's degree from the University of Iowa.