About Holy Name · Omaha, Nebraska
Holy Name Catholic Church is a bilingual, urban parish in North Omaha, Nebraska, founded in 1917 and a member of the Archdiocese of Omaha. The parish is paired with nearby St. Philip Neri–Blessed Sacrament Parish in the Archdiocese's Urban Family D grouping, sharing priests and celebrating a regular schedule of English and Spanish Masses between the two church buildings. Holy Name runs its own preschool–grade 8 elementary school (opened 1918), a 2,000-seat Field House built in 1950, and an extensive outreach network including a St. Vincent de Paul conference, a Hispanic ministry, the Confraternity of the Holy Family (since 1922), and the Humble Jumble thrift store.
- Established
- 1917
- Patron
- Holy Name of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Damien J. Cook
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
Holy Name is a deeply rooted, bilingual North Omaha parish where English and Spanish-speaking Catholics worship side by side and where the parish school, the Field House, and outreach ministries all open their doors to the wider neighborhood. Parishioners serve one another through long-standing groups like the Confraternity of the Holy Family (since 1922), the Holy Name Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Men's Club Lenten fish dinners, and a vibrant Hispanic ministry with its own Spanish-language Mass and faith formation. Whether you come for the Saturday Vigil, the Sunday Spanish Mass, Holy Name School, or simply to belong, the parish welcomes new members into a community described by its own leaders as 'rich in tradition, family, excellence, strong faith, and very community oriented.'
Mass times at Holy Name
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm at Holy Name (English/Spanish)
- Saturday 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm at Holy Name (English/Spanish)
- Sunday 6:45 am – 7:15 am at St. Philip Neri (English/Spanish)
- Anytime by appointment with the priest
About Holy Name Parish
Holy Name Catholic Church is a bilingual, urban parish in North Omaha founded in 1917 and now pastored by Rev. Damien J. Cook. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Omaha and is paired with St. Philip Neri–Blessed Sacrament Parish as Urban Family D, sharing priests and a coordinated schedule of English- and Spanish-language Masses between the two campuses. Holy Name's stated mission is 'to live out the message and values of Jesus Christ, to foster the growth of his parish and school, and to embrace our diverse community.'
Our History
Established in 1917 to meet the spiritual and physical needs of families on Omaha's growing edge, Holy Name was led by its founding diocesan pastor Father Steven Dowd until he left for World War I chaplain service in 1918. The Redemptorist Fathers then took over and pastored the parish for nearly ninety years, ending in 2005. Religious sisters from the Servants of Mary helped open Holy Name School in 1918, and the parish supported a high school from 1923 to 1989. The Redemptorists shaped Holy Name's devotional life — including the Solemn Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help (begun 1918) — and inspired many vocations: 24 of 35 parishioners known to have been ordained as priests entered the Redemptorists, two of them becoming bishops.
The Campus and the Field House
Over the years Holy Name has had several iterations of its church, wings added to the school, and community facilities built up around the Fontenelle Boulevard site. The parish Field House, constructed in 1950, seats 2,000 and was the largest such facility in Omaha at the time; it remains a center for parish dinners, athletics, the Lenten fish fries, and the annual Fiesta.
Bilingual Community and Hispanic Ministry
Holy Name welcomes both English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics. The parish website and bulletin are presented in both languages, and there is a dedicated Hispanic Ministry (Ministerio Hispano, extension 801) with its own coordinator. The Latino character of the parish deepened when, in 2013, it welcomed Hispanic members from the closing St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish; Spanish-language Masses are celebrated on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Outreach and Charity
Outreach is woven through Holy Name's identity. The parish runs a St. Vincent de Paul conference (402-238-4767), the Humble Jumble thrift store (founded 1986), and the Men's Club Lenten fish dinners (since 1981, drawing roughly 2,500 people each Friday of Lent). In 1982, two Redemptorists and a parishioner helped found Holy Name Housing Corp., a nonprofit that continues to build and renovate homes for low- and moderate-income families in north Omaha.
Holy Name School
Holy Name Catholic Elementary School opened in 1918 staffed by the Servants of Mary and today serves about 250 students from preschool through 8th grade. It is a state-accredited inner-city grade school and preschool where more than 54% of students are minority, representing over 16 cultural heritages, and 45% of students are non-Catholic; 78% participate in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. The school partners with Alegent Health, UNO's Psychology Department, Creighton University's OISSE program, and Creighton Prep, and runs a federally funded free summer breakfast and lunch program serving over 25,000 meals a year. It is part of the CUES School System (with All Saints and Sacred Heart).
Parish Staff and Pastoral Council
Parish operations are led by Pastor Rev. Damien J. Cook with the help of Deacons Rafael Gutierrez and Brendan Kelly and a lay staff team that includes a Business Manager, Hispanic Ministry Coordinator, Director of Evangelization of Adults in Spanish and Religious Education, a Bilingual Administrative Assistant, and a Field House Coordinator. The Parish Pastoral Council, formed in the late 1960s under Fr. James Vance in response to Vatican II, meets monthly to advise the pastor and is elected by parishioners to three-year terms.
- Rev. Damien J. Cook — Pastor
- Deacon Rafael Gutierrez
- Deacon Brendan Kelly
- Monica Valles — Coordinator for the Hispanic Ministry
- Miriam Rodriguez — Business Manager
- Sr. Beatriz Castaneda
- Reyna Vallecillo — Bilingual Administrative Assistant
- Downey Fitzgerald — Field House Coordinator
Confraternity of the Holy Family
Founded in 1922, the women's Confraternity of the Holy Family has logged nearly a century of spiritual and corporal works of mercy at Holy Name. Members support the parish through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, bring Communion to the homebound, donate to Emergency Pregnancy Service, Bethlehem House and other causes, volunteer with Meals on Wheels, sponsor a Vietnamese family, help with fish-fry cleanup, and serve funeral luncheons — a tradition set up by Father Delort nearly fifty years ago.
Contact, Location and Hours
The church is at 2901 Fontenelle Boulevard, Omaha, NE 68104; the parish office is at 3014 N 45th Street, Omaha, NE 68104. Office hours are Tuesday–Friday 9:00 am–5:00 pm (some listings also note Monday 9:00 am–5:00 pm). In case of serious illness or hospital admission, parishioners are asked to call the rectory for the Sacrament of the Sick.
- Parish Office: 402-451-6622
- Hispanic Ministry: 402-451-6622 x 801
- Holy Name School: 402-451-5403
- Field House: 531-375-5872
- St. Vincent de Paul: 402-238-4767
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Steven Dowd1917–1918
First pastor; diocesan priest who left for service as an Army chaplain in World War I
- Redemptorist Fathers (C.Ss.R.)1918–2005
Pastored the parish for nearly nine decades after Father Dowd's departure
- Father Frank Baumert2005–2012
First diocesan pastor after the Redemptorists
- Father Vitalis Anyanike
Pastor at time of parish's 100th anniversary in 2018 (also pastor of nearby St. Benedict the Moor)
- Rev. Damien J. Cook
Current pastor per Archdiocese of Omaha directory and parish website