Nebraska’s largest Catholic high school to expand athletics facilities, performing arts center, and chapel though ‘Forward in Faith and Excellence’ campaign
Pius X Foundation
Southern Nebraska Register
Pius X Catholic High School in Lincoln celebrated a groundbreaking event for its “Forward in Faith and Excellence” campaign Oct. 5.
The event included Mass officiated by Bishop James Conley, followed by the groundbreaking and a reception with project leaders and benefactors. The $28.7 million campaign project will enhance the educational experience of current students and future generations through the largest expansion of the school’s facilities in 20 years, including a new performing arts center, athletics facilities, and chapel that are planned to open in 2027. Catholic parishes throughout the city of Lincoln are raising $10 million of the Pius X campaign goal, and will also make enhancements for their own parishes.
As a non-public school, Pius X does not rely on taxpayer funding for necessary school facilities improvements but instead partners with the community to invest in developing the mind, heart, body and soul of each of its students. Serving 1,100 students at Pius X saves Lincoln-area residents approximately $15 million in taxes annually.
Pius X is upgrading facilities built five to seven decades ago for a student population half of the current size, to enhance spaces that have grown outdated and undersized for current and future students.
Athletic and extracurricular program facilities built in the 1950s-70s for a fraction of the student population no longer meet students’ needs.
“Those locker room facilities are original to the school,” said Chief Administrative Officer Jeremy Ekeler, who graduated from Pius X in 1997. “They look the exact same as when I was a student here, except maybe a little more run down.
“We host boys’ and girls’ basketball games on the same night,” he continued. “And because of our locker room space, we have to have our teams find classrooms to change in so our opponents can use our locker room space. That’s not OK.”
The new $6.4 million athletics facilities upgrades will renovate and expand the school’s interior locker rooms, growing from two to five. It will also expand the weight room and move the wrestling room to the second floor, and add a new indoor training facility.
In addition to the long-overdue athletics enhancements, the $28.7 million campaign also includes a new performing arts center, an expanded and beautified chapel, HVAC improvements, and a new parking lot. Along with essential facilities improvements, the school is also growing its Teacher Excellence Fund to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and adding to the Good Shepherd Scholarship program to help Pius X remain affordable for all families.
Expanding the performing arts center will enhance access to the arts and provide a more welcoming experience for thousands of visitors, replacing the undersized stage that limits theater program cast sizes and that cannot currently accommodate band and choir concerts that exceed the small space. The new $15.95 million multipurpose performing arts center will be a creative hub for students and the community, with theater seating for more than 600 as well as an expanded stage, a new drama classroom, modern lighting and sound systems, a new scene shop and dressing rooms. The 12,500-square-foot performing arts center will serve Pius students and benefit thousands of visitors, enabling the school to host a wider range of events to enrich the greater Lincoln community.
After record growth in faith-building opportunities and a track record of inspiring future religious vocations, Pius X is also expanding and beautifying the school’s chapel. More than 200 students are involved in Campus Ministry, and hundreds attend optional faith events that overflow the chapel’s capacity to the point that worship services are consistently relocated to the gym.
“The space has grown too small, because the spiritual life at Pius has grown so big,” explained Bishop Conley. “We’ve seen in recent years our vocations are coming more and more from our Catholic schools. Many of our future priests and future religious sisters are being formed here.”
Nearly half (45%) of the Diocese of Lincoln’s current seminarians are Pius X alumni. This fall, three 2025 Pius X graduates are pursuing seminary studies for the priesthood directly after graduating high school.
The new $3.6 million chapel will expand seating from 140 to 325, with a new Romanesque design unique to the diocese, additional confessionals, and expanded space for sacred music ministry, including a second-floor balcony.
“Pius X has a long history of being Lincoln’s only Catholic high school, a school that was built on sacrificial giving,” said Courtney Johnson, executive director of the Pius X Foundation. “But it has now been 20 years since Pius X High School’s last campaign; investing in our facilities is long overdue. It’s important now, more than ever, that we continue to rally behind our school. Now is the time to move Pius X ‘Forward in Faith and Excellence!’”
Pius X has already raised more than $17 million during the leadership and major gifts phase of the campaign, which launched in August 2024. Another $10 million is planned to be raised during the parish phase, when Catholic parishioners throughout the Lincoln area are invited to support their only Catholic high school and their parish’s essential projects. Alumni, family and friends will also be invited to participate in Pius X High School’s historic campaign.
The school’s campaign funding priorities were determined through strategic planning and a campaign feasibility study. During the summer of 2025, the old performing arts center and adjacent parking spaces were demolished, making way for the new multi-purpose performing arts center. Before school opened this fall, Pius X completed a paved parking lot addition adjacent to the tennis courts. Pius X High School’s new facilities are anticipated to open in fall 2027.
To view the campaign video and learn more about the Forward in Faith and Excellence campaign for Pius X Catholic High School, visit piusx.net/campaign.
