Fr Dave has been Installed

Today Archbishop George Lucas celebrated our noon Mass.

During Mass, Archbishop Lucas installed Fr Dave Reeson as our pastor. Fr Dave said it feels good to be legitimate now.

In his homily, Archbishop  Lucas said we have gotten to know Fr Dave well enough to realize that he did not send us the perfect pastor. But he also said he did not send Fr Dave to the perfect parish.

Fr Dave had a few comments after Mass.

The Women's Guild had a great reception dinner afterwards which was enjoyed by everyone!

Our New Pastor

Our new pastor will be Fr. Dave Reeson. He will be the seventh pastor in the 139 years of St. Columbkille Parish in Papillion, Nebraska. 

The son of the late Dennis and Darlene (Cusick) Reeson of Fremont, he was born Nov. 13, 1952. He graduated from St. Patrick Grade School and attended ArchBishop Bergan High School in Fremont. He graduated from Fremont High School.

He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minn. His graduate work and preparation for the priesthood were done at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver and Creighton University in Omaha.
Following his ordination in 1980, he was assistant pastor of St. Bernard (1980-84) and Christ the King (1984-1987), both in Omaha. From 1987 to 1995, he served as Director of Vocations for the archdiocese and Campus Ministry at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was in residence in at St Pius X in 1987.

He entered the United States Air Force as a reserve chaplain in 1981 and became an active duty chaplain in 1995. He was the Catholic chaplain at Offutt Air Force Base from 1981-1995, and served in Croatia, Macedonia. In 1998, he was granted an extended leave of absence from the Archdiocese of Omaha

His work in the Air Force has taken him to several bases in the United States, as well as Greenland and Turkey. Father Reeson has been stationed in Bosnia, Turkey, the Middle East,Germany, Africa and Japan. 

Since 2011 he has been the Chaplain at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Omaha. At first he was in residence at Our Lady of Lourdes. Since 2012 he has been in residence at St. Joan of Arc.

Father Reeson has received a number of awards and decorations. These include Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal; Air Force Achievement Medal; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award; Air Force Organizational Excellence Award; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Service Medal; Air Force Longevity Service; Air Force Training Ribbon; and United Nations Medal.

Here is a video Fr. Reeson recorded when he arrived as a new base five years ago:

Fr. Dave Reeson from Prayerbreaks on Vimeo.