‘A lot of excitement’: Lincoln Pius X breaks ground on multi-million dollar improvement project

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Lincoln Pius X broke ground on its new “Forward in Faith and Excellence” campaign on Sunday.

The project costs about $28.7 million, with the goal of improving the educational experiences for today’s students and those to come.

“In the next couple of years, we’ll be working on putting on a new learning and performing art center, a new athletic facility with a weight room, wrestling room, new locker rooms,” said Jeremy Ekeler, the school’s chief administrative officer. “We are also updating and putting in a new chapel. We’re really excited, it’s one of those things that hits every one of our students here in some way and will impact generations of kids.”

Some of the spaces are decades old, making them outdated and undersized for students.

With more than 200 students involved in the campus ministry, growing the chapel’s capacity is long overdue, according to the school.

Ekeler said this will help empower not just the students, but the Lincoln Catholic community as well.

“Roughly half of the guys in the seminary right now are Pius graduates,” he said. “We want to continue that tradition, continue to form great religious and really call upon that base of graduates and alum that if they’re not connected with Pius, to reconnect and if they are, continue that support because we’re doing something really special here as we grow the Pius thing, which is to ‘Restore all things in Christ.'”

Bishop James Conley is also helping lead the way in these upgrades.

Ekeler said Bishop Conley’s support, along with the community, has made everything possible.

“A lot of excitement. A lot of energy around the campaign for Pius,” he said. “Our enrollment is up this year by about 30 students. So nothing but excitement and good things, everyone’s trying to find ‘how can I give? is there a way I can give with my time, my talents, and then obviously with treasure because it is a big campaign, it’s an expensive venture but it’s for the future of Pius and for the future of the church. It’s all hands on deck.”