St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn to expand with new church

A fast-growing parish on the western edge of Omaha will break ground for a new church campus on June 4.

St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn will hold a church groundbreaking and blessing ceremony at its future site – 18600 West Maple Road – following an 11 a.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop George J. Lucas at the current church.

Attendance at the groundbreaking has been limited because of a lack of parking space. Parishioners were asked to RSVP. A shuttle bus will be available to ferry them.

The parish, along with much of Elkhorn, has experienced tremendous growth over the last five to six years, said Eric Crawford, advancement director at St. Patrick.

St. Patrick serves about 2,800 families.

The parish looked at possible options and decided a new building – built nearby on the donated 12-acre property – would be most feasible, Crawford said.

The estimated cost is $30 million. So far, $29.6 million from more than 760 parish families has been pledged for the project, said Father Tom Fangman, pastor.

Construction will include a 1,400-seat church, 600-seat parish hall, 500-stall parking lot, an office complex for church staff and an outdoor courtyard, garden and plazas for fellowship.

The new church will offer more comfortable seats and kneelers, said Father Tom Fangman, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn. RDG PLANNING & DESIGN

Construction is expected to take about two years.

The school and existing church will remain, giving the parish two campuses.

“This is a big family, a big family at St. Pat’s,” said Deacon Jim Ricketts, who serves at the parish and spoke in a video about the new church and the capital campaign to fund it.

St. Patrick School has 750 to 800 students, about 100 parish and school employees and numerous programs for parishioners, said Marty Cordes, facilities director at St. Patrick.

“I did a little calculating, just estimating, and there’s about 9,000 bodies through this building every week,” Cordes said in the video. “We are really tight in our available spaces.”

Father Fangman, also in the video, spoke about the excitement of building a new church. “How many people truly get to be a part of building a new church?”

“I think it’s an awesome opportunity for lots of people to come together, to work together.

“I want people to experience the holy” in the new church, he said. “I want people to go into and recognize they’re at a sacred space … to feel close to God.”