The impact of an excellent Catholic education reverberates across decades. Here in the Diocese of Lincoln, our community has benefited from parochial schools that not only have a strong Catholic identity, but that are also uniquely affordable for “ordinary folks,” as Wayne Stephens explained when he and his daughter Libby (Stephens) Jaros ’81 shared family memories for Pius X High School’s 65th anniversary.
Wayne and his late wife, Sarah, were blessed with 10 children, with many attending Pius X after their family moved to Lincoln. “Lost a boy to cancer about 12 years ago. Six attended Pius, four of them met their future spouses here,” Wayne shared. “We have 8 couples also involved in Pius and Catholic schools. I’ve got 35 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren, attending 16 different colleges, 6 of them are Catholic colleges. They’ve stayed pretty close to the faith. Most of them are strong, when they visit home you know the faith is there and everyone is happy.” Wayne has been impressed by the opportunities available to his grandchildren and their classmates at Pius X. “Henry was off to Alaska and Hawaii with Academic Decathlon, and that was stunning to me. I was 25 years old before I ever got out of the country and he’s been all over.”
Before the Stephens family moved to Lincoln, Wayne recalled the high tuition their growing family faced in seeking a Catholic education throughout the country. “We had children in school (two places) in California; Rhode Island; Memphis, Tennessee; District of Columbia, and all of them were beyond our means of being able to pay for 5, 6, 7 kids. Tuition was so high in Rhode Island that ordinary folks didn’t go. And I walk in here [at Pius X] and talked to the priest and to find out what it costs and how thorough it was, it was just astounding. We really loved that. It was a big help.”
Libby recalled her mother’s and grandmother’s dedication to providing a Catholic education: “When we moved here in 1976, my mother had made a commitment to her own mother decades before. ‘If I can, I will send my kids to Catholic school’….I remember going with my mom when we lived in Rhode Island, we all piled into the van. I don’t know if it was all 10 of us kids. But we drove to a school…she went into the office and came back out: too expensive. Then we drove to another Catholic school. And then we drove….So mom was thrilled when we came here. That we had these great Catholic grade schools. We went to St. Mary’s, the last few of us, and then Pius.”
“My husband [Steve Jaros ’82] and I were always going to choose Pius for our kids.
It was an easy choice. I know it’s not like they come here and they’re gloriously protected from any sinful inclinations or experiences, but there’s all this support here. I’ve thought about this a lot. If you want to be good, if you’re striving towards it, you can find like-minded friends here, and plenty of them. You could look around and there are many, many students who are striving toward what’s good and what’s holy. So not only your classmates, but then also the freedom here to
pursue your faith…”– Libby (Stephens) Jaros ’81, mother of 8 Pius attendees [Edward ’05, Mary (Jaros) Cunningham ’07, Sr. Collette Marie (Ruth) ’11, Peter ’14, Henry ’16, Clare ’17, Rose ’21 and Cecilia ’24]
In the past, Lincoln’s Catholic schools were primarily funded through donations (including parishioners’ tithing and each school’s fundraising), with a relatively low percentage of the schools’ operations funded through tuition. Recognizing the importance of keeping tuition costs as affordable as possible for families, many parishes and schools also began to establish endowments to create a permanent, steady source of funding.
Established with a single scholarship fund in 1969 to help keep Pius X High School affordable, the Pius X Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that advances the school’s mission. Today, the Foundation Board of Directors support the Advancement team in managing approximately $20M in assets, including the Pius X Foundation Endowment, 50+ named scholarships, and 14 named endowed funds.
The Pius X Foundation’s Director of Advancement, Courtney Johnson, explained: “It brings us immense joy to know we are helping families throughout and beyond Lincoln achieve their dream of attending Pius X. Many Pius X students come from large families, and an increasing percentage of our students receive scholarships (now 33%), in addition to the tuition subsidies made possible by the Foundation endowment, the Fund for Pius X and other fundraisers, and our supporting parishes. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, the foresight of those who established endowments that have exponentially grown, and our entire Pius X family, tuition remains less than half of the actual cost per student. With the ongoing generosity of our community, we can continue achieving our goal to never turn away a potential student due to their family’s financial situation.”
Libby shared how her life without Pius X High School could have been very different, and how the school has grown even stronger in its Catholic identity over time: “For me, the faith formation and embracing my Catholicism, it was huge. I could see it, not being here and not going to Pius, if we had ended up in California or something, you know, it could have been a lifetime adrift. So I’m extremely thankful for that from Pius. Although I would say that in those days…it was a little less strong than it is now, and so I’m so glad for my kids.”
Unique among Catholic schools today for the high number of priests and religious sisters actively involved in the school’s education, administration, and faith-building opportunities, Pius X currently has 14 priests and 3 religious sisters serving at the school. Libby thought back on all the priests and religious who impacted her children’s lives. “Throughout the years…29 different priests taught my kids at Pius. Most of them pretty good, adequate, and then some brilliant and excellent. We’d be sitting at home at the table and I’d say, did you know such and such. And then one of my kids would say, ‘well Father so and so says…’ and then they would give me like 3 paragraphs that were way more thought out and excellent. I was like, Yes Lord, Thank You. Just that they got to experience the dedication of the priests…”
With the school’s emphasis on preparing students to “experience the joy of an authentic, Christ-centered life of service, in which they will use their gifts to help others know and love God,” Pius X graduates are prepared for the vocations for which God calls them to serve. Libby met her husband, Steve Jaros ’82, at Pius. Serving as controller at Tracy’s Collision Centers, Steve shared his talents on the Pius X Board of Advisors for many years. Several of Libby’s siblings and several of the Jaros’ children also began their “alumni love stories” here, including Martha (Stephens) Bruckner ’80 (whose late huband, Paul ’80, passed away in 2021), Bart Stephens ’84 and Tina Sposato ’93, Peter and Anna (Arndt) Jaros ’14, and Mary (Jaros) and Sam Cunningham ’07.
Some Pius X alumni who eventually married met even earlier in one of Lincoln’s Catholic PreK-8th grade schools. Libby said, “I think it’s wonderful how all our Catholic grade schools feed into one school. My husband and I were always going to choose Pius for our kids. It was an easy choice. I know it’s not like they come here and they’re gloriously protected from any sinful inclinations or experiences, but there’s all this support here. I’ve thought about this a lot. If you want to be good, if you’re striving towards it, you can find like-minded friends here, and plenty of them. You could look around and there are many, many students who are striving toward what’s good and what’s holy. So not only your classmates, but then also the freedom here to pursue your faith…” The freedom to pursue one’s faith, and the strong involvement and visibility of priests and religious not only leads to many devout Catholic marriages and beautiful families, but also provides an inspiring witness of saying “Yes” to God’s call to the priestly or religious life.
With 38 priests and 21 religious sisters who are alumni, Pius X High School is known throughout the Diocese of Lincoln and beyond for our graduates’ openness to answering God’s call to the priestly or religious life. Libby and Steve’s daughter, Ruth Jaros ’11, is now one of the 59 Pius X alumni who have given their “Yes” to Him. Choosing the religious name of Sister Collette Marie, she began her novitiate with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist in Independence, Missouri in October 2016. Libby expressed how the prevalence of sisters’ joyful witness at Pius and throughout the Lincoln community made a tremendous impact on her daughter. “Sister Collette had actually a couple nuns that taught her during the school years. I think one of them was Sister Ann Marie Zierke [a 1998 Pius X alumnae, now Mother Superior of the Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln]. She’d often come home and say ‘Sr. Ann Marie said this, said that,’ so she was seeing those vocations lived here in the halls at Pius.” Libby also shared how their family would enjoy sharing meals from time to time with another sister who was a family friend. “Ruth was definitely impacted by them, and also just as a child too, just being in a community where sisters lived and worked, seeing 4 or 5 different orders, that was helpful too.” At the end of her senior year, Ruth went on a retreat that helped her discern where God was calling her after graduation from Pius. Libby said, “she came home and gave me a big hug and said ‘I think I’m supposed to be a nun.’ …Having teachers especially, seeing them in the hallway, having a chance to form relationships impacted her. She’s very happy, when we go down to visit her….When we drive away I think, she is happy. I’m excited for her picture to go up in the hallway…” Sister Collette Marie, OSF, took her Perpetual Vows on September 4, 2021.
In gratitude for the many families, individuals, and community partners who faithfully join Pius X to help ensure an excellent Catholic education remains financially accessible to every student who desires to attend, Pius X established the St. John the Apostle Loyalty Society. Members of the Loyalty Society are recognized in the school’s annual report for 10 or more consecutive years of Pius X support. CAO Tom Korta shared, “We are tremendously grateful for the incredible generosity of our entire Pius X community and their steadfast support for the school’s signature fundraisers – such as the Fund for Pius X which supports affordable tuition and teachers’ salaries/operations, and the annual BOLT gala, which provides for necessary facilities improvements. We are also inspired by all those who so generously invest in scholarships and endowed funds, special projects supported through Give to Lincoln Day, the Family Fun Run, the Booster Club, and especially the many St. Pius X Legacy Society members who so profoundly honor our school by remembering Pius X in their estate plans.”
As inflation continues to rise, the school’s Board of Advisors and our supporting parishes’ pastors continue to try to keep tuition as affordable as possible, while also prioritizing faculty and staff compensation and benefits so the school can recruit and retain mission-driven, passionate educators. To complement and extend the support being provided by individual schools and parishes Bishop James Conley founded the Good Shepherd Scholarship fund in 2019, to provide students in schools throughout the Lincoln Diocese with tuition assistance. In a recent Southern Nebraska Register article, Brent Cushman ’94 shared how the kindness and generosity of his principal at St. Mary Elementary in Lincoln, Msgr. Paul Witt, inspired him to “pay it forward.”
As he pondered and prayed on his way home from work one day this spring, Brent Cushman felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit.
“It really just came out of nowhere,” he said. “I had been thinking that day about how I had a little extra money to give away this year, and the Good Shepherd Scholarship popped in to my head. I just instantly knew that I had to give it there.”
“I had been thinking that day about how I had a little extra money to give away this year…I just instantly knew that I had to give it there.”
– Brent Cushman ’94
Now retired, Msgr. Witt served at St. Mary’s for 20 years, as well as at St. Patrick Parish and Pius X High School. Cushman “remembers feeling respected and cared for by his beloved principal because of the way he listened and showed a willingness to hear him out.”
When Cushman’s family encountered some financial difficulties, as soon as Msgr. Witt became aware he immediately came to the family’s aid.
“Monsignor Witt helped my family out when we were struggling and paid my tuition so I could continue to go to Pius,” Cushman shared. It was this act of generosity that inspired Cushman to give his own gift—a donation to the Good Shepherd Scholarship Fund—to help provide tuition assistance for students in need at a Diocese of Lincoln Catholic school.
“What Monsignor Witt did for my family and me was so impactful. So I wanted to pay it forward and help another family in the way he helped mine,” Cushman said.
Now a proud father with students attending North American Martyrs School in Lincoln, “Cushman said he hopes his story will inspire others to give generously to help families who want to choose Catholic education, but may not otherwise be able to afford tuition.” Courtney Johnson, who is also a member of NAM, is a big believer in how our stewardship reflects our faith. “As the economy ebbs and flows, and our modern culture becomes increasingly complex, the generosity and faithful support of all those who believe in the importance of a faithful Catholic education is a key reason why Pius X and the many other wonderful Catholic schools and education programs throughout our Diocese continue to achieve our ultimate mission – helping as many souls as possible get to Heaven. Whatever ways you feel called to ‘pay it forward,’ we are all united as members of God’s Church, giving back the gifts God has given each of us to lift one another up.”
As Libby and her dad Wayne reflected on the special ways Pius X and Lincoln’s Catholic schools have impacted their family and many others throughout Lincoln, they discussed the unique “Connectedness” that sets Lincoln apart. Libby shared, “I think that [connectedness] runs really deeply through the Pius Community…My husband and I are in a bookclub, with about 7-8 Pius graduates… We made a move across town and went to a new church. You look around the church, and say ‘Oh, I went to Pius with him, and I went to Pius with her, and she graduated with me from Pius.’ Those connections, your child starts dating someone, and you already know their family…..That connectedness is a tremendous strength, that Pius has and that our Catholic school system in this town has.”