Restoring the “Old Cathedral” in downtown, Lincoln
Restoring St. Mary Catholic Church
We have entered year two of our three year capital campaign, Opening Doors to the Heart of St. Mary! This campaign was to fundraise the $2.5 million needed to replace our failing HVAC system, upgrade our electrical system, and pay off our debt from the school.
We met our $2.5 million goal in March 2024 thanks to the generosity of 500+ donors who made one-time donations and/or committed to a three-year pledge redemption. As of April 11, 2025, over $1.9 million has been remitted, construction is substantially completed, and 54% of the loan has been repaid. For a weekly update on campaign remittance, please see our bulletin.
Furthermore, due to the generosity and enthusiasm of donors, we have received over $90,000 of surplus donations! These surplus donations are being designated to the restoration of the church exterior, which includes removing paint, tuckpointing, and repairing the brick and stone. This work began in August 2024.
For questions about your pledge to the Opening Doors to the Heart of St. Mary Campaign, or if you would like to learn about donating to our restoration efforts, please contact us at: 402-435-2125 | [email protected]
HISTORY
The cornerstone for our church building was placed in 1888 by the First Christian Church. The church building was sold to the Diocese of Lincoln in 1904 to be renovated as the Cathedral. As renovations began, the church was damaged by a fire in 1906. Rebuilding began immediately afterwards, and the church was finally dedicated as the Cathedral on December 8, 1911. St. Mary served as the Cathedral for the Diocese of Lincoln until 1965.
Saint Mary’s School opened in 1949. At the time, it was the standard that every parish should also have a school. Saint Mary’s School was financially solvent until the late 1990s. As our parish boundaries shrank, the size of the parish decreased as well as enrollment at the school. From the 1990s until 2019, Saint Mary took out several operational loans from the Diocese to keep our school running. By the time Saint Mary’s School was reluctantly closed in May 2019, the debt exceeded $1.3 million. Since then, the Diocese has graciously held those loans at 0% interest with no payments.
RENOVATIONS
Throughout St. Mary’s history, the church building has undergone many exterior and interior changes. The last major renovations were in the 1960s, with the addition of an HVAC system and the replacement of the High Altars. However, sixty years later, the HVAC system needs replacing, and the interior and the exterior of the church are in need of restoring.
The restoration of St. Mary Church has been divided into phases. Phase 1, which has already been completed, was to weatherproof the west side of the building. We are currently finishing Phase 2, which includes the HVAC system, church lighting, and a fire alarm system.
PLANNING STUDY
Over the 2023 summer, we retained the services of the Steier Group, a Nebraska-based Catholic development consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive planning study. This study helped us determine whether there was sufficient support to move forward with a major fundraising effort to accomplish some, or all, of our Phase 2 Restoration goals.
The St. Mary’s community responded wonderfully, and we had 360 surveys completed during our planning study, giving us plenty of data to make good decisions. The Steier Group presented their findings to the Apostolic Leadership Council, Finance Committee and Restoration Committee on August 29.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
The leadership of St. Mary’s determined to move forward immediately with the campaign, and we have received permission from the Diocese to do so as well. The campaign began in October 2023.
Theme
The theme of our campaign is Opening Doors to the Heart of St. Mary. We are inviting St. Mary to guide us in our journey to restore our church building, and we want to honor her as we move forward. The logo also reflects our intent to include Mary in every aspect of this campaign.
Debt Retirement
The Diocese of Lincoln has generously offered a 2.5-to-1 match on our loan payments. For every dollar we raise toward the $1.3 million debt, the diocese will match with $2.50. If we can maximize this offer, it will reduce our obligation to $372,230 – saving St. Mary’s almost $1 million!
Campaign General Chairs
Ron Grose
Ron has been a member of St. Mary’s for 42 years and is involved with the ALC and the Restoration Committees. He is a lector, acolyte, EME, a member of Serra Club and the Knights of Columbus and involved with Winterfest and Fish Fries.
“St. Mary has always been there for me and my family.”
Bernice Polivka
Bernice has been a member of St. Mary’s for 61 years and is involved with the ALC and Finance Committees. She is a lector and rosary leader and is involved with Martha’s Meal Mates, Winterfest and Fish Fries.
“St. Mary is my home away from home.”
$2.5 MILLION CAMPAIGN PLEDGE GOAL REACHED!
On March 20, 2024, the day following the solemnity of St. Joseph, an anonymous donor provided the parish with a gift that enabled us to reach our Opening Doors to the Heart of St. Mary capital campaign goal of $2.5 million.
We reached our $2.5 million goal because over 500 donors have made one-time gifts or have committed to remitting pledges over the course of the next three years. As of February 11, 2025, over $1.8 million of the $2.5 million have been remitted.
If you have a question about your pledge remittance, you can contact Riley in the parish office. 402-435-2125 | [email protected]
Thank you to the 500+ donors who made this possible!