Fr. Jim Tiegs became pastor of St. Stephen the Martyr Parish on December 1, 2004 succeeding Msgr. William Dendinger who was appointed Bishop of the Grand Island, Nebraska diocese.

Fr. Jim was born February 15, 1948 in Yankton, South Dakota, the second of four boys.  He was baptized when he was 11 years old and attended Sacred Heart Grade School for 7th and 8th grades.  He went to high school at Trinity Prep (now closed) in Sioux City, IA graduating in 1966. His first two years of college were at what was then called St. John Vianney Seminary in Elkhorn NE (now Mt. Michael High School), then received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1970.  His graduate theological studies were completed at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado 1970-1974.

Fr. Tiegs was ordained as a priest for service in the archdiocese of Omaha on May 25, 1974. He eventually earned a masters degree in pastoral counseling from Creighton University in Omaha and a doctoral degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana. He also completed a 9 month chaplain residency at Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, being certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). A certificate in fund raising management was earned from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is also a certified Myers-Briggs specialist.

Father’s priestly assignments include service as an associate pastor at St. Philip Neri, St. James, and St. Elizabeth Ann parishes in Omaha. He served as pastor at St. Rose of Lima in Genoa, St. Mary in Schuyler and St. Therese in Omaha where he also worked as director of the permanent diaconate for four years. He served on the national board of deacon directors for two years.  Simultaneously with several of these assignments, he worked in high school administration and classroom teaching. Prior to coming to St. Stephen’s, Fr. Jim served for ten years as chaplain at New Cassel Retirement Center and as president of  its foundation. He gave 170 adult education lectures during that time. He is past president of the archdiocese Council of Priests; he served as an archdiocesan consultor; and he served on the Priests’  Pension Board as a trustee.

Father Jim currently serves as State Chaplain for the Nebraska Knights of Columbus. His hobbies and interests include: genealogy, travel, movies, reading and golfing with duffers.

One of Father’s personal themes is: Pray hard, work hard, play hard!

Father Michael Swanton, Associate Pastor

Fr. Michael Swanton was born and raised Catholic in Casper, Wyoming. He has a loving mom and dad and two younger brothers. His dad, Patrick, is a retired high school English teacher, and his mom, Joan, stayed home to raise them. They are all very close, talking on the phone and e-mailing often.

When he was a senior in high school, he went on a Search retreat (like TEC). He felt the love of his peers on the retreat and also felt called to a closer relationship with Jesus. He began praying a lot more than before and started learning more about our Catholic faith.

After graduating from college, he held various teaching positions for six years. After leaving the teaching field, he held ten jobs in 13 years! One of those jobs brought him to Omaha. He says, “I really liked the people I got to know, and I became a member of St. Gerald’s Catholic Church.”

Fr. Mike decided to talk to a priest (blind Jesuit, Fr. Larry Gillick!) to provide direction for his life. After several meetings, he realized that God was calling him to be a priest. These are just a few of the signs he recognized: None of the jobs brought him as much satisfaction as when he was involved in religious activities with his friends. He also liked praying and learning more about our Catholic faith. Even though he had several girlfriends, none seemed to be the right one for him to marry.

Fr. Mike studied at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis from 2000-2005. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Omaha Saturday, June 4, 2005, at St. Cecilia Cathedral by Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss. His First Mass was celebrated at St. Gerald Catholic Church, 96th and Q Streets in Omaha.

Fr. Mike’s favorite sport is downhill skiing, and he also has great fun waterskiing. He enjoys watching Husker football! To relax, he likes to spend time with friends, take walks, read, and play acoustic guitar.

 
 

Fr. Andrew Sohm, Assistant Pastor

Father Andrew Sohm grew up in a very close family on a farm near Danbury, Iowa. The question Fr. Andy is most frequently asked is how tall he is.  This 6 ft. 6 ½ in. priest’s home parish is St. Mary’s in Danbury.  Fr. Andy’s parents, Terry and Cherie Sohm, have moved off the farm and now live in Hinton, Iowa.  He has three married sisters and several nieces and nephews.

He graduated from Maple Valley High in 1995. He studied at Western Iowa Tech in Sioux City, Iowa for two years and then transferred to Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul Minnesota.   

In the fall of 1998, Fr. Andy entered Kenrick-Glennon College Seminary and began studying for the priesthood as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Omaha. He was drawn to the Omaha archdiocese because of its “strong support for vocations.”  Father studied at Saint Louis University and in the spring of 2001 earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

To further prepare himself for the priesthood, he participated in the life and formation events of Kenrick Seminary and was enrolled at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in 2003. As a seminarian, he served at St. Stephen the Martyr parish during the summers of 1998 and 1999 and at St. Wenceslaus parish in 2004.  Throughout his time at the seminary, he returned to serve at St. Stephen’s during vacations and whenever his schedule allowed.

Father Andy graduated from Kenrick Seminary in the spring of 2005, with a Masters of Theology and a Masters of Divinity. The focus of his graduate studies was Marriage Law. Father Andy was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 2005 by Archbishop Elden Curtiss. He celebrated his first Mass at St. Stephen’s on June 5, 2005.

In June 2006, Father Andy was assigned as part-time assistant pastor at St. Stephen the Martyr and Chaplain for VJ and Angelica Skutt Catholic High School.  Before coming to St. Stephen’s, he served as the assistant pastor at St. Wenceslaus. Father Andy says he “is very happy to be back at Saint Stephen’s and looks forward to meeting all of you.”  He truly enjoyed the time he spent at the parish as a seminarian and feels so blessed to be back serving as the assistant pastor.