Heelan High School honors Bishop Emeritus Nickless

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

Bishop Heelan High School recently honored Bishop Emeritus Walker Nickless for his years of support of the school in the dedication and naming of the legacy case that contains school memorabilia of the last 77 years.

During a presentation at the Sioux City high school on Dec. 1, a plaque bearing the name of the Bishop Nickless Legacy Case was unveiled and the case was blessed.

“Bishop, thank you for your 19 years of service to our diocese. Your unselfish and servant leadership was steady and difficult at times, but we are grateful for your vision and leadership,” said John Flanery, president of Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools. 

He mentioned that he can’t imagine how many decisions the bishop made throughout the years and while most were probably met with love and respect, the school president assumed a few decisions were met with resistance.

“It takes courage to lead and you certainly were up for that challenge,” said Flanery. “On behalf of Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools, thank you for your support and patience on the new construction of this building.”

The president of Bishop Heelan acknowledged there were many reasons why Bishop Emeritus could have grown weary with the project – unmet timelines, over budget several times, short on cash and sometimes short on support.

“But one person’s support never waivered or backed down during those 10 to 12 years of the campaign and building project,” Flanery said, gesturing to Bishop Emeritus Nickless. “We are eternally grateful for that.”

Following comments by Flanery, the plaque that had been covered by a drape was unveiled and Father Travis Crotty led a prayer of thanksgiving.

Bishop Emeritus Nickless blessed the plaque and legacy case with holy water before offering some comments.

Coming off of the Thanksgiving holiday, he said the honor from Bishop Heelan High School gave him an added opportunity to reflect on his blessings.

Through the campaign and building of the new school, Bishop Nickless recalled “the ups and downs. I remember the groundbreaking – the winds were unbelievable. There were so many things we went through.”

The bishop emeritus expressed how honored he was for the recognition and offered gratitude to those from the school, offering a reminder that the spirit of the school wasn’t the building but rather it is the people.

“It’s people who care about others, especially enhancing Catholic education for our young people,” said Bishop Nickless, who was the first to receive the school’s Legacy Award two years ago. 

Upon being named Bishop of Sioux City 20 years ago, he said Bishop Heelan became a major part of his life. He relayed a story from his past stating that when served as a pastor in Denver he hired a 1965 graduate of Heelan. He had heard about Sioux City and Bishop Heelan even before his appointment as bishop.

“In the early days of being bishop, I remember in my office the talk and the dreams for a new Heelan. Could we do it? Could it be possible? The seeds were planted,” said Bishop Nickless. “It took a long time for this to become reality, but here it is.”

The school that was established under the leadership of Bishop Edmond Heelan, he added, “stands as a legacy of so many people who care about Catholic education.”  

Bishop Emeritus was ordained the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City on Jan. 20, 2006. It was in 2007 when plans firmed up and a capital campaign was launched to build a new Bishop Heelan High School in three phases over several years.

Phase 1 began with a groundbreaking on Oct. 10, 2012, for a fine arts wing that included an auditorium, music classrooms, art classrooms and chapel. That structure was completed in 2014.

A groundbreaking was held at the start of the school year in 2016 for Phase 2, a new academic wing that opened in January of 2018.

The groundbreaking for Phase 3, for the gymnasium was held on Oct. 19, 2018 and the facility was completed in 2019.

According to Rebekah Armstrong, director of communications and marketing for Bishop Heelan, the legacy case includes historic items of the school from 1949 to the present. Some examples of the items featured are a letterman’s jackets, trophies, musical instruments, game balls and more.

Bishop Emeritus Nickless' own hands were used for this sculpture which were auctioned off earlier this year at the Bishop Heelan Auction and were given back to the school to include with the legacy case.

While various school memorabilia are contained in the Bishop Nickless Legacy Case, she explained some items have a direct connection with the bishop emeritus such as the sculpture of Bishop Nickless hands.

“They were molded and auctioned off at the Bishop Heelan auction in 2025. It was auctioned off for $70,000 and the person who purchased it, donated it back to us,” said Armstrong. “Because we wanted to honor the bishop for doing so much for us that we thought it would be a great idea to put them in the case.”

The legacy case also includes the groundbreaking photo of which Bishop Nickless was a part of and a school brick from the original building.

“It represents the old to the new and how many people it takes to be a part of the process with our biggest supporter being Bishop Nickless – constantly praying for it and seeing it from start to finish,” said Armstrong.