By S.L. Hansen
for the Register
Those driving past St. Mary Church in downtown Lincoln recently may have noticed a remarkable transformation. Workers have removed exterior paint, revealing the original brick on the north wall and the west façade along 14th Street.
The exterior renovation — which includes tuckpointing to stop rain and melting snow from infiltrating the walls — is phase three of plans to renovate the historic building, which was the diocese’s original cathedral. Toward the back of the property, there is evidence of phase four: a large dumpster stands to receive materials from Flynn Hall as the basement is gutted.
Phase four’s hall renovation is ambitious: new restrooms, upgraded audio-visual equipment, an ADA-compliant wheelchair ramp, complete overhaul of the kitchen, and better long-term storage for parish materials and the FoodNet program that operates in the basement every Saturday.
The parish is close to wrapping up a capital campaign launched in 2023 to raise $2.5 million. Riley Bittner, parish administrative assistant, said 81% of pledges and one-time donations have been received.
Father Joseph Walsh, pastor, called the campaign “wildly successful.”
“I am absolutely flabbergasted by the financial side of this,” he said. “I’m convinced it is Mary’s blessing.”
The parish has contracted the Steier Group once again to perform a feasibility study for a new fundraising effort, which will be combined with Pius X High School’s capital campaign.
Overlapping capital campaigns can present a challenge, but Father Walsh suspects parishioners will once again show their generosity. For the first campaign, he said, “95% of this parish community wanted to do it. And 92% of visitors who answered our survey said yes.”
He marveled, “How do you get consensus like that? Our Blessed Mother wants us to do this, and we’ll do it.”
The Steier Group will survey parishioners about their willingness to either make a new pledge, extend their existing pledge into the new campaign, or make one-time contributions.
“We are committed to the restoration of Flynn Hall, because we will be using it for sacraments when we turn our attention to the sanctuary,” Father Walsh explained, “but we would like to restore more of the exterior and put an elevator in, as part of the scope of the campaign.”
Bittner noted that at least one elderly parishioner had to stop attending Mass at St. Mary because of the difficulty of getting in and around the building. Handicapped-accessible confessionals were completed in the first phase, but more must be done.
She said the paint removal on the west side of the church has become a kind of evangelization.
“People will call and say, ‘I was walking by the church, and I’m not Catholic, but what are you going to do?’ And I see people take pictures all the time…It is stunning.”
The paint went on in the early 1960s during the last major renovation. That project included replacing several pillars and adding two bump-outs on the east façade among other projects. Since the original masonry could not be matched, paint made everything look uniform.
The current renovation plan included repainting the church after weatherproofing. A parish committee had even selected a palette, secured approval from the Capitol Commission that controls the appearances of buildings facing the State Capitol, and received an estimate. However, once the paint started to come off, people were wowed by beautiful intricacies of the original masonry.
People started to ask Father Walsh to leave the brick unpainted. He agreed that should be an option for parishioners to discuss. However, it appears that the parish has, in a sense, already voted.
“Literally, everyone says, ‘Father, don’t touch it. Leave it alone. It’s beautiful,’” the pastor said.
Father Walsh recalled a conversation he had with a member of another Lincoln parish who has experience renovating woodwork. The man said that when he restores a piece, he doesn’t try to hide or replace the broken parts, because the damage is part of the history of the piece.
“I’m fascinated by that idea, to be careful not to take away the story,” Father Walsh said.
Of course, when the whole building is stripped, consensus may shift. If so, the pastor will take it in stride. One possibility would be staining the 1960s bricks so that they look more like the original masonry. If that doesn’t work, there is still a palette and a painter’s estimate on file.
The most important thing is to protect the structure and make it a welcoming, functional place for everyone in the diocese, whether they are parishioners, downtown workers who come for confession and noon Mass, or others who attend various events. St. Mary Parish hosts the Walk for Life Mass, the Red Mass for those in the legal profession, and various events for the Nebraska Catholic Conference. Most recently, Catholic educators from across the country who were attending a conference at the nearby Cornhusker Hotel came to St. Mary for Masses and holy hours.
“This church belongs to the diocese,” Bittner observed.
Father Walsh feels that his job is merely to manage the sequence of how this renovation proceeds, confident that Our Lady is the one who is truly making it happen.
“Our Blessed Mother has always been the one who intervenes and intercedes and protects her Son and her Son’s friends,” he declared. “That’s the whole story of our 2,000 years of faith.”
He added, “You can hardly go wrong when you take care of our mother.”
SNR photos | S.L. Hansen
