The church sat perched on a hilltop, the earth around it clawed away by steam shovels.
A mammoth city project to lower a steep Dodge Street hill was underway, and St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in downtown Omaha found itself right in the middle of it.
That was almost 100 years ago — in 1920 — and the historic Gothic-style church at 19th and Dodge Streets would survive the big dig.
St. Mary Magdalene lives on today, yet another challenge awaits.
The parish turns 150 next year and its leaders say the historic building needs a new roof, a project the Omaha Archdiocese says will require a major fundraising drive.
History seemingly would suggest that St. Mary Magdalene will clear this next hurdle, too. From its earliest days the parish has displayed a determination and grit visible in its ability to overcome.
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» A fire destroyed one of the parish’s first buildings in the 1890s; the congregation rebuilt.
» Nearly three decades later came the huge excavation project.
» In 1997, adjacent buildings were demolished — including an implosion that felled a seven-story structure — to make way for a new federal courthouse.
“It’s been a fixture of downtown Omaha since the very beginning,” said the Rev. James Gilg, the parish’s longtime pastor who retired last year. “It’s that vibrant Catholic presence.”
Photos: Downtown Omaha's St. Mary Magdalene Church through the years
St. Mary Magdalene Church in 1908
St. Mary Magdalene Church early
St. Mary Magdalene in 1920
St. Mary Magdalene early
St. Mary Magdalene Church during street work
Dodge Street grading project
St. Mary Magdalene in 1920
St. Mary Magdalene Church during project
St. Mary Magdalene Church during project
St. Mary Magdalene early
St. Mary Magdalene Church after project
St. Mary Magdalene Church after project
St. Mary Magdalene Church after project
St. Mary Magdalene in 1998
St. Mary Magdalene in 1998
St. Mary Magdalene in 2007
St. Mary Magdalene in 2007
St. Mary Magdalene in 2007
St. Mary Magdalene in 2007
St. Mary Magdalene in 2007
St. Mary Magdalene in 2014
St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in 2017
St. Mary Magdalene Church in 2017
St. Mary Magdalene Church in 2017
St. Mary Magdalene Church in 2017
St. Mary Magdalene in 2017
It’s the only Catholic church presence downtown, notes Deacon Tim McNeil, spokesman for the archdiocese. McNeil said the church carries a reputation for short, straightforward Masses that helps draw standing-room-only crowds. St. Mary Magdalene is also known for its large number of Masses: eight every weekend and three on weekdays, making it a convenient place to attend a service before Creighton basketball games or other downtown events.
With its average weekend Mass attendance of 3,000 last year, St. Mary Magdalene had the second-highest turnout of any Catholic church in Omaha.
Given its location, the church often pulls in tourists, out-of-town convention attendees and, sometimes, well-known guests. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who’s married to an Omaha native, has attended. Robert F. Kennedy attended Mass at the church in 1968 while campaigning for president, just weeks before his assassination.
Mary Langdon has attended Mass at the church for more than 30 years, and she said she appreciates its history and beautiful German-made stained glass windows. She also likes the unadorned worship style, which comes without a choir, organ or other music.
“There’s not frills,’’ she said. “It’s a very spiritual experience.”
German immigrants founded the parish and built the first church in 1868 near 16th and Douglas Streets. They added a school in the basement.
The growing parish eventually replaced the original church, according to a parish brochure. But that second building burned down in 1894 and the congregation rebuilt. Some historical accounts indicate that the congregation’s first church was the one destroyed by fire.
The congregation moved once more, completing the existing structure at 19th and Dodge Streets in 1903.
Less than 20 years later the congregation faced the massive Dodge Street excavation.
The city wanted to decrease the steepness of Dodge with an eye toward making it a main east-west road for the growing community.
The project cost nearly $13 million in today’s dollars, and at the time it was described by the World-Herald as a “great engineering feat.” The work required excavating 350,000 cubic yards of dirt — enough if placed on a city block to make a pile 150 feet high, according to the newspaper’s archives.
The scope of the project might be best understood by viewing a series of photos archived at the Durham Museum.
Once the earthmoving portion of the project was complete, St. Mary Magdalene’s congregation faced a daunting task, Gilg said. Not the least of all challenges was that the church’s front door stood about 20 feet — or two stories — above Dodge.
The parish contracted with famed Omaha architect John Latenser Sr. and other experts to build a new first floor and substructure for the church — all beneath the existing building.
The church’s current rectangular balcony was the original structure’s first floor.
With its downtown location, St. Mary Magdalene has never been like typical parishes that draw members from surrounding neighborhoods, Gilg said.
That’s one reason why the church has only 370 registered members.
Gilg said the worshippers who attend Mass on weekends come from throughout the Omaha area, although most live within five miles of the church.
McNeil, the archdiocese spokesman, said the parish is financially solid and takes in enough in the weekly collection to support itself but not enough to pay for a new roof.
He said details of the fundraising for the roof are still being worked out. But he’s confident that local Catholics will understand the importance of making sure the resilient church is around for the decades ahead.
michael.oconnor@owh.com, 402-444-1122