Archbishop Installs Fr. Nields As New Neligh, Tilden Priest

It’s official.

Father Patrick Nields was formally installed as a new pastor by Archbishop George Lucas on Sunday morning in Neligh.

After the opening song, the archbishop thanked parishioners for their patience.

“It took me two weeks to get here,” he said with a grin.

The original installation service on August 11 was postponed due to the archbishop’s car troubles.

On Sunday, a short ceremony was held during Mass in Neligh to install Fr. Nields as the new pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Neligh and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Tilden. Coffee and rolls were served in the parish hall following Mass.

Parishioners from both churches were on hand to witness the installation, as well as his parents, Jerry and Kathy Fox.

Neligh and Tilden will be the first parishes in which Fr. Nields will serve as a head pastor. Fr. Nields began his pastoral duties at these churches the weekend of July 1 and has been assigned a six-year term.

He grew up in Omaha, attended Creighton Prep and then the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he earned a business degree before attending law school at Creighton University. He practiced law in Omaha for more than nine years. Fr. Nields entered the seminary in 2010, and graduated from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis in 2016. He was then ordained into the priesthood and assigned as an associate pastor in Papillion.