My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Fr Reiser has completed the third Icon of Christ in Glory with all  the Saints and will be unveiling on  November 1st at the 5pm Mass at St John Vianney.  November 1st is also All Saints Day – what a fitting day to unveil and bless the Icon especially on the day we celebrate all the Saints in our lives.  Christ in Glory with all the Saints was initiated by Fr Reiser as a Capital Campaign for St John Vianney to help pay off the three million loan that was incurred for the renovation of our Church and the building of the Narthex, Social Hall and Parish Offices in 2003.  Thanks to your generosity, our current debt is down to $750,000.  A mailer will be sent out in the next few days with the hopes that your generosity can help bring down our debt even more.  We are also seeking your support to help defray the cost of the HVAC system for our Church and basement classrooms at St John Vianney.  The cost of the HVAC system is S300,000.  We continue to do our best to allocate our resources so that our campuses of our Family of Parishes continue to be well maintained.

We announced last week that the Nebraska Department of Education, on October 6th, recognized seven schools in Nebraska as Blue Ribbon Schools. A prestigious designation awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.  Mary Our Queen Catholic School was one of the seven schools to be recognized as a 2025 Blue Ribbon School. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is one of the highest honors a school in the United States can receive, recognizing overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

The Blue Ribbon recognition underscores the collective work of faculty and staff in fostering a rigorous academic environment. Mary Our Queen was recognized in the Exemplary High Performing School category, marking it as one of the state’s top schools in overall achievement. Blue Ribbon Schools are  recognized for data-driven instruction, effective teaching methods, professional development, and strong collaboration between educators, families, and communities. The program highlights schools that serve as models of innovation and effectiveness nationwide.

The Nebraska Commission of Education will be visiting Mary Our Queen on October 29th to officially present this honor to Mary Our Queen Catholic School.

As Pastor, it is a tremendous privilege to be part of this honor that began 60 years ago since the founding of our School.  Not only does this honor belong to the hard work and dedication of the teachers and staff of Mary Our Queen but it also belongs to all who laid the foundation to shaping our School into the wonderful School we are today.  Congratulations are in order.

We have prepared a Faith Formation Guide for our Family of Parishes. The idea of providing this guide is for you to reflect on your own  personal faith journey in light the opportunities that are offered here in our Family of Parishes.  This Faith Formation Guide will be available on our website and in the narthex of our Family of Parishes.

Through the hard work of so many, the grounds of our Family of Parishes are looking beautiful.  We are looking for some gardening angels to help us maintain the grounds of our Family of Parishes whether it is a specific area of our campus or helping us look into the overall aesthetics of our campus. Any assistance you can provide will continue to help in the upkeep of our Family of Parishes.  Please contact the Parish Office if you can assist.

Blessed week ahead,

Fr Marc