Sacred Heart Parish

Who are we?

• Sacred Heart Parish is the Catholic Church that serves Norfolk, Nebraska, and the surrounding area.

• Norfolk Catholic School is a PreK-12 school in Norfolk, Nebraska, which exists as an apostolate of Sacred Heart Parish.

• Our common mission statement is Walking With You to Meet Jesus.

What are our needs?

We see the value in not only replacing things as needed, but also caring for what has been entrusted to us through past support. In the past, we have made improvements to historic Burns Hall in the high school and Sacred Heart Church downtown, replaced minivans for school transportation, and we recently completed a new storage facility. 

Now, it’s time to turn our attention to our newest school building — the elementary school and activities center that opened in 2003. Hundreds of children from Norfolk and the surrounding area have called this state-of-the-art facility their school. More than two decades since its doors opened, it now faces several critical needs, listed in order of priority:

• Replace 26 geothermal water source heat pumps ($181,000)

  • We have 49 atop this building that are original with its completion in 2003.

  • We are behind schedule in replacing units that are not functioning properly, in part due to equipment shortages.

• Replace carpet in 29 rooms of our elementary school building ($139,200)

  • The flooring has suffered from increased chemicals and cleaning required in 2020 and our recent increase in enrollment (up 15% in five years).

• Repairs to the roof and gutters ($10,000)

  • This is a larger project than originally anticipated.

• Replace exterior doors with security updates ($90,000)

  • This is a safety and security concern, and we have adjusted plans due to rising costs and other priorities.

  • This project would be addressed after the previously listed projects are completed.

Will you meet the challenge?

In just the past few years, we have been able to undertake many projects that would not have been possible without the contributions of many families and community members who see the value that Sacred Heart Parish and Norfolk Catholic School provide to the community.

We have been blessed with incredible support from our community and stakeholders in recent years. We have also been blessed as one of the recipients of a Lavigne Foundation Challenge Grant valued at $200,000 through the Archdiocese of Omaha.

Here’s where you can make a difference: we cannot receive it until we match it. We must raise $200,000 in new contributions by the end of the year to unlock the grant!

In addition to the Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving and the Norfolk Area Big Give, we anticipate targeting this challenge during Raise the Paddle at Spirit 2026. Should we fulfill this challenge before Spirit, other capital projects would be moved up the priority list.