by Fr. Lawrence Stoley,
Director, Education Office
Welcome to the Register’s new column featuring the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Lincoln. In this column, we hope to tell the story of the many wonderful Catholic schools in our Diocese. Before we get too far along, maybe a little bit of background for context would be helpful.
Catholic education has been a critical part of the work of evangelization even before the founding of our Diocese in 1887. According to the History of the Diocese of Lincoln, Bishop James O’Gorman, Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Nebraska, saw the value of Catholic schools and established St. Benedict Parochial School in Nebraska City in 1865. Many of the early bishops of Nebraska also promoted Catholic education. Interestingly, 36 percent of the original schools founded over 100 years ago in our diocese continue the day-to-day work of evangelization. These schools are St. Benedict in Nebraska City, 1865; St. Mary (Lourdes Central Catholic) in Nebraska City, 1880; St. John, Plattsmouth, 1884; Cathedral, Lincoln, 1887; St. James, Crete, 1887; St. Joseph, Beatrice, 1888; St. Joseph, York, 1890; Sacred Heart, Falls City, 1893; St. Mary (Aquinas Catholic Schools), David City, 1899; St. Wenceslaus, Wahoo, 1911; St. Cecilia, Hastings, 1912; St. Patrick, Lincoln, 1916; and St. Patrick, McCook, 1918. Thank you to all who have supported these schools over the years!
The presence of teaching sisters and priests has always been important to the work of evangelization in the Diocese of Lincoln. The first diocesan superintendent of schools, Father D.B. O’Connor, represented all three Nebraska dioceses to help secure teaching certificates for sisters and priests to fulfill state legislation issued in 1919. Our schools are unique in that we still have many priests and sisters teaching and administrating in our schools today. Currently, we have five sisters and 26 priests who teach and work in administration. We also have 34 sisters and 36 priests who teach in the classroom. We are very blessed to have so many dedicated priests, sisters, and lay faithful witnessing daily the love of Christ to their students.
The primary work in our Catholic schools is evangelization. In the 1975 document Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI stated, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” We have been fortunate in the last 158 years to have had so many authentic Catholic teachers and witnesses in our schools. As I write this article, I call to mind the sisters at Villa Marie who work day-in and day-out, quietly helping special needs children win little victories. Other names could be listed of priests, sisters, and laity who have given themselves totally to the mission of Catholic education, but the list would be too long for this article. All are teachers, and all are witnesses.
For decades now, many have been asking the question, how do we best evangelize “modern man?” The ideas are numerous, and the debate is intense. Currently in our diocese, we have 14,670 registered Catholic children, Pre-K through 12th grade, from Falls City to McCook, covering 23,844 square miles. Of the 14,670 children, 6,266 are enrolled in our Catholic schools; that’s 42 percent! This is an amazing statistic given that we have only 29 schools, and over 130 parishes. I believe that what we see in these numbers is precisely what the U.S. Bishops at the First Plenary Council of Baltimore envisioned when they instituted parish schools in 1852. The hope was to provide a Catholic cultural experience, close to home, where children could grow and learn from “witnesses” how to live their faith in Protestant America.
Today, we live in different times, but the fundamental question remains: how do we best prepare our children to authentically live their Catholic Faith in a pluralistic, if not sometimes hostile, America? Bishop O’Gorman and the other pioneer bishops of that era were very “intentional” about their vision for evangelization in the 19th century. I think the answer to the evangelization question today is right in front of us: Catholic schools. Let’s get behind our Catholic schools. They work!
