By Andrew Winter
1. The first Catholic church in Lincoln was built in 1867, and at first was simply called “The Catholic Church in Lincoln.” In 1877, it was named St. Theresa, the forerunner of the present St. Mary Church in downtown Lincoln.
2. Bishop Thomas Bonacum became the first bishop of the Lincoln Diocese in 1887, and took St. Theresa as his temporary cathedral.
3. As St. Theresa was too small to serve the Lincoln Diocese properly, Bishop Bonacum contemplated building a new one immediately, but as he was short of funds, he decided to expand St. Theresa instead. The addition was completed in 1888.
4. The next year, Bishop Bonacum held the first ever ordination Mass in the diocese at St. Theresa. Two men were ordained priests: Father Martin C. Corbett and Father Francis X. Hovora.
5. In 1904, Bishop Bonacum finally got his chance to acquire an official cathedral. The First Christian church at 14th and K streets had been taken over by creditors, and it was a good size for Lincoln’s cathedral. But two years after he bought the plot and the adjoining property for a total of $17,900, the church building caught fire and burned nearly to the ground. Now Bishop Bonacum faced the challenge not just of renovating the original church, but of building a new cathedral entirely. Over the next five years, the diocese spent $75,000 building St. Mary as it stands today at 14th and K.
6. Finally, on December 8, 1911, Bishop J. Henry Tihen—the second bishop of Lincoln—consecrated the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. So many Catholics wanted to see the consecration of the long-awaited cathedral that the church was forced to give out tickets by lot to the lucky 600 people who were allowed to attend the consecration Mass; 75 priests and eight bishops were also in attendance.
7. In 1963, St. Mary’s high altars were removed and over the new altar a grand baldacchino, or ornamental canopy, was built. It stood until 1993.
8. After more than 50 years of service as the cathedral of the Diocese of Lincoln, St. Mary was replaced in 1965 upon the completion of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ, the current cathedral of the Lincoln Diocese. St. Mary became known as the “Old Cathedral,” and still stands as a large and beautiful parish of the city of Lincoln.
9. St. Mary Church began a four-phase renovation in 2021. Phases I and II are complete, and phase III, “Arise & Become,” launched in the fall of 2025. It includes updating and making Flynn Hall fully accessible, repairing and restoring the church exterior, installing an elevator, and providing parish support for the Pius X campaign. As of Nov. 25, St. Mary Parish has secured $2,639,874 in gifts and pledges—64% of the $4.1 million goal. The sanctuary will be renovated in the future as the final phase, sometime before 2029. To learn more, visit: https://www.calameo.com/read/003509110df5e93bc6863
