St. Mary Magdalene

A nonprofit organization
Fundraise

$206 raised by 2 donors

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t
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e community of St. Mary Magdalene, are a diverse people of faith, committed to serve the Lord and one another through worship, faith, formation, and outreach to the community.  By doing this, we strive to be a sign of Christ’s presence in the world by being his hands and feet, face and voice.      

 

 St. Mar

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Magdalene – Fun FactsLocation

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location, location: St. Mary Magdalene Church is Omaha’s downtown parish, located proudly on the corner of 19th and Dodge street. But did you know that 19th street wasn’t where St. Mary Magdalene was first established? Rather St. Mary Magdalene church was first located on Douglas Street between 16th and 17th streets, in its founding year of 1868. But after a fire in 1894 destroyed the original church, St. Mary Magdalene was eventually moved by church leaders to the corner of 19th and Dodge street eight years later.          
 
 

 
                       Preserving be


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iful St. Mary Magdalene Church: Do you know why St. Mary Magdalene has an upstairs balcony? It was not created to allow the church to fit more parishioners, though that is a bonus, but to actually preserve the beautiful St. Mary Magdalene Church.                
 
 

 
                                                In 1918 the cit

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of O

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a announced that the hill on 19th and Dodge Street would need to be lowered in order to decrease the street grade for the streetcar lines. The church leaders had to make another tough decision about St.  Mary Magdalene Church. It was eventually decided that in order to preserve the beauty of St. Mary Magdalene, workers were to build a completely new substructure to hold it aloft. This project was eventually completed in 1920. Today, this substructure is known as the main level of our church and the original main level is now our balcony.        But even with th
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much in like today’s world, parishioners still found a way to take part in Sunday worship.        A Magnificent Steeple
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Today, S

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M
ary Magdalene’s beautiful steeple proudly stands apart from all other structures located in downtown Omaha. But what may seem surprising about this known landmark, is that the steeple was not added to St. Mary Magdalene church until 2007. The steeple was made possible through the individual donations of generous donors who collectively gave sufficient resources that served as matching funds for a significant major gift from the Soener Foundation.    Two Phases of Stained Glass Win
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the past two construction phases of the present Church structure, St. Mary Magdalene can boast of two separate sets of stained glass windows. Both were made by the Franz Mayer Company of Munich, Germany. The first set was installed in 1902 in what is now the upper part of St. Mary Magdalene Church. These windows, with the exception of one depicting St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, focus on scenes from Sacred Scripture of the lives of Jesus Our Saviour and Mary Our Blessed Mother. The second set was installed in 1920, and in addition to themes from Sacred Scripture, these windows also depict scenes from the lives of believing Christians and give special attention to women as subjects.The Sinne Window – History in Stained Glass

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 One of our largest stained glass window pieces contains historical figures who have made an impact in Catholicism, as well as the city of Omaha. In the center window, the viewer sees Pope Pius X in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. To the lower right, dressed in red, Monsignor Bernard Sinne is featured kneeling. Msgr. Sinne was the pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Church from 1904 to 1961. Kneeling beside him is St. Philippine Duchesne, in whose honor Duchesne Academy in Omaha is named.To the left of Pope Pius X is St. Thomas Aqu

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nas, whose scholastic philosophy served as the foundation of Catholic thought for centuries. Behind St. Thomas is St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, who operate Creighton University in Omaha. Standing around the altar are figures who represent the different races of humanity, the Native Americans, the Slavic peoples, the Asian peoples, the African peoples and the Celtic peoples.St. Cecilia Cathedral: Featured on the east s

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de of our Church is a stained glass window depicting the scene of a group of mourners carrying the body of St. Cecilia to her tomb. St. Cecilia, an early Christian martyr, is special to the Archdiocese of Omaha because she is the patron saint of our Cathedral.The Prodigal Son: In Luke: 15: 11-32, The Prod

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on Returns Homes, we are taught of how a son decides to leave his wealthy family, take his inheritance and set out on his own. After a while of being on his own, the son’s inheritance is depleted and he realizes he most return home. When he returns home, his father does not turn him away rather he asks the servants to bring the best robe and prepare a celebration.St. Mary Magdalene Church has brought this Gospel to

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fe in one of our Church’s stained glass windows. In these two windo…



































Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

St. Mary Magdalene

Tax id (EIN)

47-0413712

Categories

Education ,  Faith

Address


Omaha, NE 68102

Website

https://stmarymagdaleneomaha.org/