St. Stephen the Martyr Parish

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!

Fr. Jeff Mollner, In Residence

Fr. Jeff Mollner was born in Omaha, the second of five children (a married sister belongs to St. Stephen’s). He attended St. Thomas More grade school and Creighton Prep high school. After graduation he attended Rockhurst University in Kansas City MO and earned a degree in biology. Fr. Jeff returned to Omaha and at Creighton University’s biology department for two years before he went to the seminary. He spent two years at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus OH studying philosophy. His graduate studies in theology were at Mt. Angel Seminary in Oregon. He was ordained to the priesthood for service in the archdiocese of Omaha in 2008. Fr. Jeff's first priestly assignment was at St. Margaret Mary parish. He is very excited to be a part of St. Stephen the Martyr Parish and Skutt Catholic High School. For recreation he enjoys watching football, reading, going to movies, and spending time with his family friends.