SEWARD (SNR) – St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward (SGGS) announced March 25 that Father Brian Kane will be the school’s fourth rector, effective June 14.
Opened in 1998, the minor seminary provides formation for men discerning a call to the priesthood in four dimensions: spiritual, intellectual, pastoral and human. Seminarians for the Diocese of Lincoln spend up to four years at the seminary before entering a theological seminary – St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., or the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Seminarians also attend SGGS from the dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo.; Fargo, N.D.; Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colo.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Carmelites of Holy Hill, Wisc.
St. Gregory’s current rector, Father Jeffrey Eickhoff, has been appointed pastor of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Wahoo. Father Eickhoff, ordained in 1995, came to teach at St. Gregory the Great in 2002, after receiving a philosophy degree in Rome. He served as professor and academic dean before being appointed rector in 2013.
The Wahoo area is familiar to him, as he served in parishes in Colon and Cedar Bluffs, and taught at Bishop Neumann Jr./Sr. High in Wahoo.
“I’ve told the seminarians many stories from what I call my ‘glorious year’ as pastor in Saunders County and teacher at Bishop Neumann High School,” Father Eickhoff said. “Now that I am going back to that area, I am really looking forward to re-connecting to the wonderful people that I met there and to call Saunders County my home again.”
St. Gregory the Great, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 2010, underwent a major expansion in 2017, adding dormitory rooms, two classrooms and a science laboratory. The parking lot was also expanded. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Library, built in the seminary’s first expansion in 2000, acquired its 50,000th book in October – a replica of the beautiful, intricately decorated eighth-century Irish monastic “Book of Kells,” the Latin translation of the Four Gospels, a gift from Father Eickhoff.
“Father Eickhoff brings a fatherly presence to the seminary community, helping men in discernment and formation learn what it is to be a spiritual father and disciple,” Father Kane said. “He has served in many capacities at the seminary and has shared his love for philosophy and teaching with many.
“I’m excited to build on Father Eickhoff’s dedication to forming men who are answering the call to serve the Church as priests,” he said.
Father Kane, ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lincoln in 2000, has been diocesan director of seminarians since 2017, with residence at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where he has been dean of men of the theology seminary since 2015.
In his role as director of seminarians, Father Kane said his duties were to ensure that men discerning the priesthood “have every necessary resource available to them during their journey.”
Father Kane’s priestly service has been varied, allowing him to share diverse experiences with the seminarians he will lead at St. Gregory.
After ordination, Father Kane served as an assistant pastor and high school teacher. He was assistant director of vocations while appointed to the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. He was later a principal and then superintendent of Bishop Neumann Jr./Sr. High in Wahoo, and was a pastor in Morse Bluff and Cedar Hill and in Mead.
Father Kane is a military chaplain. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Nebraska Army National Guard where he has served since 2003. He was deployed for two year-long tours of duty in Iraq, in 2005 and 2010.
“I am excited to return to the Diocese of Lincoln to serve at St. Gregory,” he said. “My time working at the seminary in Philadelphia has highlighted how the Holy Spirit desires to be the inspiration for everything that happens in seminary formation, from spiritual growth as disciples to opportunities for seminarians to experience healing and deeper interior freedom to serve. St. Gregory’s is a great gift in our Diocese to help form men discerning a call to the priesthood.”
There are 28 seminarians in various stages of formation for the Diocese of Lincoln. Seven are with Father Kane at St. Charles. Seven are at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and one is at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. The remaining 13 men are in college-level formation at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward.
