The Catholic Voice

And they’re off! The first of six runners from each of 48 teams start the first leg of the fifth annual Parish 2 Parish Relay Race at Mary Our Queen Parish in Omaha. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH WELLS

Parish 2 Parish Relay builds fellowship, faith

Surrounded by family and friends, runners exchanged greetings as they adjusted to the cool, humid morning on Aug. 18 and prepared for the fifth annual Parish 2 Parish Relay Race at Mary Our Queen Parish in Omaha. Tom Worthington, a member of... Read More

Singing during an Aug. 19 Mass celebrating the 125th anniversary of St. Anne Parish in Dixon are Emma Kneifl, left, Diane Sullivan, Mandy Boyle, Sharon Brentlinger, Miley Boyle, Dave Podany and Sharon Kneifl. Not pictured is pianist Donna Kraft. COURTESY PHOTO

Parish sees vitality, growth as it celebrates 125 years

Emma Kneifl grew up in the Lutheran faith – but her reverence for the Catholic Mass drew her to the church and St. Anne Parish in Dixon. “Whenever I went there, I felt my spiritual well-being nourished,” she said. “It felt like coming home... Read More

Jim Nailon relaxes with his guitar on his front porch in Omaha. PHOTO BY LISA SPELLMAN

‘I’m just the instrument’: Omaha musician praises God for gift of song

It was 1999 and Jim Nailon was sitting next to his mother’s hospice bed, playing guitar, singing one of her favorite hymns, “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and trying not to cry. His voice drifted out into the nursing home hallway. Soon the door to... Read More

College of Saint Mary sophomore Elaundra Nichols reviews her class schedule and makes notes Aug. 22 in the school’s library. PHOTO BY MIKE MAY/STAFF

Colleges pursue affordability through reduced tuition

Increasing college affordability – in perception and reality. That was the goal of a tuition reduction by all-women’s College of Saint Mary (CSM) last school year – a move that is yielding benefits for students and the Omaha school. “... Read More

Father Matthew Niggemeyer stands on the sidelines with Ethan Piper after a game at Memorial Field in Norfolk during Piper’s freshman year. COURTESY PHOTO

Norfolk Catholic student brings faith to the football field

A 6-foot-4, 290-pound, all-state lineman, Ethan Piper prays the rosary on bus rides to out-of-town games. The Norfolk Catholic High School senior helps lead team prayer, regularly attends Mass and prays the Liturgy of the Hours through an... Read More

Kindergarteners Darell Benavides, left, and Santiago Silva chat on opening day of the Dual Language Academy in Omaha, with classmate Gabriel Davidson and his parents, Genesis Cortez and Victor Davidson, in the background. PHOTO BY JOE RUFF/STAFF

First-day excitement reigns at Dual Language Academy

New backpacks, school-color red shirts and even red tennis shoes were plentiful, along with smiles and laughter on opening day of the archdiocese’s Dual Language Academy in Omaha. “He’s a little nervous, but he’s fine,” Genesis Cortez said... Read More

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal benefits evangelization, other worthy causes

For Dave Loecker, evangelization is a personal mission. “I have friends and family who have left the Catholic Church, so I want to learn how to start conversations to hopefully bring them back,” said Loecker, a member of All Saints Parish at St. John the Baptist Church in Fordyce. Now,...

Faith, energy, creativity recognized at Archbishop’s Dinner for Education

Jenny Bradley, preschool director and pre-kindergarten teacher at Holy Name School in Omaha, taught in public schools during the summer a couple of years early in her career. It went fine, she said, but something was missing. “The way I was raised, I prayed about everything. I couldn’t figure out...

Parishioners help boost religious retirement fund

Religious sisters, brothers and priests will have a more secure retirement thanks to parishioners across the Archdiocese of Omaha and around the country who contributed last December to the Retirement Fund for Religious. People in the archdiocese gave $184,170, part of the more than $28...

Archbishop: ‘Institutional church has failed our people’

Acknowledging with sorrow the personal guilt of many priests and bishops in the sexual abuse of minors and abuse of power, Archbishop George J. Lucas said “the institutional church has failed our people in this area.” “Not everything is a failure,” the archbishop said in a podcast recorded last...