Father Beran to receive NCEA education award

Father Mark Beran of the Archdiocese of Omaha will be recognized nationally for his work in boosting St. Augustine Indian Mission School in Winnebago.

The National Catholic Educational Association will honor Father Beran as one of its five President’s Award winners April 6 at its 2026 Convention & Expo in Minneapolis.

The NCEA named Father Beran winner of the Msgr. John F. Meyers Award, which “recognizes an individual who has significantly supported Catholic education through contributions in development, public relations, scholarship programs, financial management or government relations.”

Father Beran earned the honor for the development strategies he used to raise more than $10 million to build a new school and to provide Catholic education for students of the Winnebago and Omaha Indian tribal nations.

St. Augustine Indian Mission School is a K-8 school founded by St. Katharine Drexel in 1909.
The new school building was dedicated in 2023. 

Father Beran serves as executive director and pastor of St. Augustine Indian Mission. He is also pastor to 11 other parishes in the Holy Apostles Parish Family.

Several years ago, Father Beran was given a Winnebago name, Waisep Manape Ga, which means Black Robe Soldier, in honor of his previous ministry as a military chaplain and his vocation as a Catholic priest.

Courtesy of The Catholic Voice, Archdiocese of Omaha.