St. Pius X Catholic Church has anchored the northwest Omaha neighborhoods around 69th and Blondo since 1954, growing from a cornfield into one of the largest parish schools in the Midwest and now a hub of outreach, formation, and parish life in the Archdiocese of Omaha. The parish describes itself as a place where Spirit-filled worship, excellence in education, and caring service to neighbors come together under what longtime members call the "Pius Spirit."
From a Cornfield to a Family of Parishes
St. Pius X officially began on May 29, 1954, the canonization date of St. Pius X, when the chancellor of the Omaha Archdiocese wrote the founding pastor, the Rev. George Kempker, telling him he would be starting with two blocks of property at 69th and Blondo, 500 families, and the prayers of the archdiocese. Fr. Kempker, a former Marine chaplain, broke ground on a metal "Behlen" structure in September, and Archbishop Bergan dedicated the church shortly before Christmas. Many called it a "ninety day wonder." A 19-room school opened in the fall of 1956 with 465 students and a staff that included four Servants of Mary Sisters. By 1965, the school had grown to 1,565 students, the largest in the Midwest.
Seven pastors have led St. Pius X since then. Fr. Charles Brodersen arrived in 1968, established the Parish Council and other committees in the spirit of Vatican II, and oversaw the brick facade and air-conditioning of the original building. Fr. Thomas O'Brien returned as pastor in 1977 and helped establish the neighboring parish of St. Leo the Great in 1978, creating the partnership that renamed the school St. Pius X/St. Leo. The Parish Center was built in 1986 to give the lay ministries room to work. Fr. Lloyd Gnirk expanded the school further, adding a four-classroom kindergarten wing, new facades on both school buildings, a priests' garage, and an Administration wing dedicated in 2006. Fr. John Pietramale stabilized the parish's finances and began a major worship-space renovation, which Fr. Mike Eckley completed in 2012. The renovation preserved the original mahogany paneling, stained-glass windows, marble altar, and ambo. Fr. Joe Wray guided the parish through the COVID pandemic with remote education and physically distant sacraments. In 2022, the Archdiocese's Journey of Faith process designated St. Bernard's, St. Pius X, and St. Leo the Great as a Family of Parishes, bringing the parish history full circle. Fr. Mark Tomasiewicz became the eighth pastor in June 2024.
Mass and the Liturgical Life
Weekend Masses are celebrated Saturday at 5:00 pm and Sunday at 7:30 am and 9:30 am. The 9:30 am Sunday Mass is signed in American Sign Language. Weekday Masses are offered Tuesday through Thursday at 5:30 pm and Friday at 7:00 am. Confessions are heard Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 pm or by appointment. A hearing loop is available in the church for those whose hearing aids have a telecoil setting, and portable receivers with headsets can be checked out for others who need hearing assistance. Mass for the homebound is broadcast on WOWT channel 6 on Sundays at 10:30 am and on FM 102.7 at noon.
Visitors will find a warm, deliberately easy environment. The parish's visitor page encourages families with small children to sit toward the front, to quietly explain the parts of the Mass, and to feel free to step out and return if a child needs a moment. The hymnals in the pew are the Breaking Bread hymnal, with the readings printed under each day's date and the hymns often displayed digitally above the organ area. Non-Catholics are welcomed to pray but asked not to receive Holy Communion; crossing the arms over the chest signals a desire for a blessing instead. Ushers and greeters, often the first official faces a newcomer meets, are drawn from the parish community itself.
The parish asks its own people to bring the liturgy to life. Liturgical ministers include altar servers (youth in fourth grade and older assist at weekend Masses, while adults assist on weekdays and at funerals), cantors and musicians, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, sacristans, and hospitality teams. The Liturgy Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month to reflect on the parish's worship and help plan upcoming celebrations.
Sacraments for Children and Adults
Faith formation at St. Pius X is led by Carter Carruthers, the Director of Faith Formation, with offices reached at 402-558-1898. The parish prepares children for the sacraments through the family formation model used by the Wednesday Evening Religious Education Program and by St. Pius X/St. Leo School.
Baptism preparation sessions are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm, either virtually or in the Church Narthex Library, and are facilitated by trained parishioner couples. Both parents are encouraged to attend, whether Catholic or not. Baptisms are ordinarily celebrated during one Sunday Mass each month and are not celebrated during Lent.
First Reconciliation is typically celebrated in November in the nave of the church, with several priests available. First Holy Communion is celebrated each spring, usually on the first Sunday after Easter, for second-grade children. A parent meeting and the parish's First Holy Communion Handbook cover dress code and seating. Confirmation is ordinarily celebrated in December for eighth-grade students, with preparation that begins in seventh grade and includes catechesis, retreats, service opportunities, and a year-long discipleship journal. Older children and adults who have not yet received these sacraments are invited to arrange individualized preparation with the Director of Faith Formation.
Adults who wish to become Catholic are welcomed through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. Weekly sessions begin in September and include prayer, discernment, and discussion with sponsors and the initiation team, walking through the history, prayers, postures, and sacramental life of the Church.
Couples preparing for marriage are asked to call the rectory nine months to a year in advance. Marriage preparation draws on the resources of the Archdiocese of Omaha and includes the pre-session materials recommended for the diocese.
The Parish School and Religious Education
St. Pius X/St. Leo School grew out of the founding of St. Pius X and became a partnership between the two parishes in 1978. Today the school shares the campus at 69th and Blondo and is led by Principal Katy Chattin. The parish's Religious Education Program serves families whose children attend public schools, providing faith formation in grades 1 through 8 on Wednesday evenings, in the church and school, and via Zoom on certain weeks each month. Catechists are supported with materials and lesson plans; the program notes that the role is challenging but deeply rewarding. A parent handbook, parent catechist resources, and registration forms are released for the coming program year each spring.
Human Needs Outreach and the Food Pantry
St. Pius X Human Needs Outreach works within the surrounding community, offering assistance with basic needs such as energy, food, and rent. The food pantry is open Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 10:00 am and operates as a drive-up or walk-up pantry at the southeast corner of the parking lot off Blondo, west of the school. Bags of food are delivered to the car. Anyone living within the parish boundaries, between 52nd and 90th from Western to Maple, may call 402-558-3382 to leave a name, address, phone number, and brief description of the need; a volunteer returns the call within a couple of days. The ministry also runs an Adopt-a-Family program.
Parishioners can serve by staffing the pantry on Wednesday nights from 4:00 to 5:30 pm, screening calls, working with individuals to discern whether the parish can help, and following up with utilities and other agencies. Nancy Lobsinger coordinates the effort.
Francis House and Wider Outreach
The parish has long supported the Siena/Francis House, Nebraska's largest shelter, founded in 1975 to provide food, emergency shelter, clothing, outreach, case management, and a residential chemical addiction treatment center to those in need. St. Pius X volunteer cooks prepare and deliver main dishes or desserts on the second Saturday and third Sunday of each month, with collection captains organizing the crews. Substitute positions are also available.
The parish's Catholic Social Teaching ministry offers formation around the seven principles of Catholic social teaching and organizes initiatives in Care for Creation, Faithful Citizenship, Neighborhood Stability, Racial Justice, and Refugee Support. St. Pius X has been a founding member of Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) since 1993, an ecumenical organization in which member congregations of many denominations act together on social justice issues at the neighborhood, city, state, and federal levels. Theology Matters evenings bring St. Pius X together with the parish's adult faith formation group Spectrum and Creighton University for theological reflections several times a year.
Pastoral Care for the Homebound and the Bereaved
The Pastoral Care ministries at St. Pius X bring the parish to those who can no longer attend Mass regularly. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion take Communion weekly to residents of Ambassador and Maplecrest Care Centers and to homebound parishioners on a mutually agreeable schedule. The parish offers two Anointing of the Sick services each year, and any seriously ill Catholic, or one preparing for major surgery, may also contact a priest individually. Because of privacy laws, the parish is not automatically notified when a parishioner is hospitalized, homebound, or has moved to a care facility, so the office welcomes a call or note from family or friends.
The Bereavement ministry walks with grieving parishioners at the time of death and in the months and years that follow. Volunteers send monthly letters or visit grieving families for a year, serve as greeters at funerals, and make prayer shawls. A Funeral Luncheon Committee offers a luncheon in the Parish Center after funerals held at St. Pius X, easing the immediate grief for families and friends.
Health Ministry sponsors a yearly exercise challenge, colon cancer screening kit distribution, blood pressure screening, Tai Chi classes, and CPR/AED training. The Prayer Shawl Ministry combines knitting and prayer, with shawls knit or crocheted in group settings or at home and given to those experiencing loss or illness. The Prayer Line carries daily prayer intentions from parishioners by phone or email to a group of intercessors.
Parish Life and Community Groups
The Men's Club has been an active ministry at St. Pius X since January 1998, supporting the parish with no dues, just an email address. The club has helped build the rectory garage, maintained campus landscaping, decorated the church for Christmas, and run pancake breakfasts, Pasta Fridays, the Super Bowl party, and the beer tent at the parish festival. Proceeds have gone to the St. Pius X/St. Leo School Scholarship Fund, the parish endowment, capital campaigns, and other causes. The Men's Club often collaborates with the parish's Knights of Columbus Council 15101, established in 2010.
The Women's Organization, founded to provide a welcoming environment for the women of the parish, sponsors a spring brunch with a speaker focused on women's spirituality, runs the Craft Booth at the parish festival, helps complete the Jubilee Quilt that hangs in the O'Brien Parish Center, and hosts a Wine Tasting each fall.
The Knights of Columbus Council 15101 hosts pancake breakfasts, an annual Free Throw Contest in January, food drives, Bikes for Kids in December, setup and teardown for Ann's Attic, the Garage Sale, the Parish Festival, and Christmas decorations. The council also leads the Stations of the Cross during Lent, runs Pasta Fridays and soda bread sales, holds blood drives, and supports the parish through its annual One Rose One Life initiative. The council meets on the first Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 pm in the Parish Center and offers the Cor formation program for the men of the parish.
St. Pius X/St. Leo's Young at Heart gathers parishioners over 55 for trips, lunches, and activities throughout the year. Supper Club places parishioners in groups of three or four households that meet in each other's homes for dinner about once a month for a six-month round, reshuffled each April and October. The Community Garden, just west of the Parish Center, offers twelve 4-by-12 garden beds for $35 a season, with water and technical support provided. The annual Festival Sunday brings together parishioners, families, and neighbors with game booths, food, and a beer tent, while Ann's Attic (a clothing sale) and the Garage Sale fill the parish gym and center in mid-July. Proceeds from Ann's Attic support the Human Needs Outreach effort, while the Garage Sale funds the parish operating budget.
The Mission and Welcome
St. Pius X describes itself in its parish prayer as a community grateful to its founders for "a tradition of sacrifice, hard work and simplicity," proud of its economic, cultural, and age diversity, and committed to Spirit-filled worship, excellence in education, and caring service. The parish mission statement is a daily touchstone: to be a welcoming community, to work for justice, and to provide caring service for one another and the world.
The parish's welcome statement makes clear who is invited: "We extend a special welcome to all who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds. We welcome you if you can sing either like our music leader, or even like our pastor, who can hardly carry a note in a bucket." From the founding "ninety day wonder" on a former cornfield to its place today as one of the northwest Omaha parishes at the heart of the Family of Parishes with St. Bernard's and St. Leo the Great, St. Pius X continues to welcome, form, and serve.