Cass County parish organist retires after 78 years and 10,000 Masses
Regina Colbert, who served as the organist at St. Patrick Parish in Manley, Cass County, retired in March after playing for approximately 10,000 Masses over a span of 78 years, she said on April 17.
Colbert’s long service is notable not only for its duration but also for her role in supporting the church’s liturgical life through music. The Diocese of Lincoln promotes adherence to Catholic traditions and engages members through communications and events, according to the official website.
Colbert estimated that she played about two-and-a-half Masses every week since she began at age sixteen. “I broke in a lot of priests,” Colbert said. Father Jason Doher, pastor of both St. Patrick in Manley and St. Mary in Elmwood, said: “I’ve been a priest getting close to nine years and I’m not even close to 10,000 Masses… Music is a vital and essential part of liturgy, and for her to give of her time for so long for so many years in service to the Church is absolutely amazing. There’s not a whole lot that we can do to express our gratitude for such an incredible gift to the Church.”
Colbert first began playing when her father donated an organ to the parish following a successful corn harvest in 1947. She took piano lessons as many young people did at the time but required additional training on the organ. Without local teachers available, Colbert traveled weekly by mail truck from Manley to Omaha for lessons as a teenager.
Her tenure covered eight papacies and changes brought by Vatican II reforms as well as evolving church music styles. “The change was slow,” she recalled regarding musical transitions over decades at St. Patrick’s Church.
The Diocese of Lincoln comprises 134 parishes and six educational institutions according to its official website; it seeks to nurture followers who actively practice their beliefs across southern Nebraska while offering support for vocations, family life programs, catechesis initiatives and charitable efforts according to information provided by the diocese’s website.
Colbert was honored with a plaque marking her service before being celebrated with a retirement party on St. Patrick’s Day this year—capping off decades spent contributing musically while working as both teacher and coach elsewhere during her career.
