Ever since he was ordained in 1987, Colling dreamed of serving at Prince of Peace. In 2012, that dream came true when he was assigned to become its pastor.

Since then, he has celebrated approximately 5,408 Masses, along with 439 baptisms, 481 First Communions, 110 funerals and 174 weddings. He has received 108 people into the Roman Catholic faith.

On July 1, after 13 productive years, he has been reassigned. He will become pastor at Catholic churches in Ord and Burwell.

“When I came, the trees were so small. Now they’re big, beautiful trees," he said. "I’m now doing the weddings of the kids who were in middle school when I came.”

The same kind of growth applies to Prince of Peace under Colling's leadership. When the parish was created by the Diocese of Grand Island in 1986, it first celebrated Masses in a warehouse at East 11th Street and M Avenue. It had 400 parishioners whom the diocese had reassigned from St. James Catholic Church. 

'Pay for it'

The parish built its first church at 2407 W. 56th St. and dedicated it on Aug. 5, 2011, but when Colling arrived in 2012 from St. Ann’s Church in Lexington, $2.3 million was still owed on the $7.5 million structure.

“Father Mike McDonald (the outgoing priest) said, ‘I built it. You pay for it,’” Colling recalls. He did that and more.

“One of my goals when I arrived was not just to pay the debt, but to make everyone feel like it was their church. I knew the transition of moving half the congregation from St. James (Kearney's only Catholic church) was hard on both parishes. We weren’t the former St. James, but the new Prince of Peace,” he said.

He forged ahead. “The green space around the church was all weeds. It was an eyesore, but we got sod and volunteers to fix it up,” he said.

By 2021, that $2.5 million debt was paid off, so the church launched a campaign for funds to add a gathering space, new offices, and a redesigned lower level with space for social events and meetings and a preschool. That $3.9 million project was dedicated in April 2024.

Colling feels good about what he has accomplished at Prince of Peace, which now has 1,009 families. He's proud of its "beautiful" Masses. He loves performing weddings.

His biggest challenge: COVID-19. “March 17, 2020, was our last in-person Mass that spring, and I knew we had to get Mass online,” he said. He and his staff did. During that time, he heard confessions in the church parking lot.

A busy job

Colling grew up in McCook and taught in North Platte before he decided to become a priest. His current duties extend beyond Prince of Peace. For 13 years, he was the head priest (“dean”) for the Kearney Deanery, which includes seven Catholic churches in this region.

He is co-director for the Ongoing Formation for Clergy and Liturgy for the Diocese of Grand Island. He sits on the Bishops Council.

Colling, who speaks Spanish, also served as the regional coordinator for Hispanic ministers in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. He gave presentations and wrote reports in Spanish. “It was unusual for a Caucasian to hold that position,” he said.

In Kearney, he sat on the community board for CHI Health Good Samaritan for 10 years and served on the boards of Kearney Catholic High School and the KCHS Foundation.

Cecelia Fick, the Prince of Peace business manager, will miss Colling’s sense of humor. She noted his respect for his staff’s child care needs. “Family really comes first at Prince of Peace,” she said.

She also valued his enthusiastic approach for capital campaigns. “During our last campaign, he met with several parishioners each week to explain the project and ask for their advice. His only request was that they pray about it," she said.

A slower pace

Colling expects life in Ord to be “a slower pace at a different place.” His new church staff will consist of a janitor and a secretary, far fewer than the 10 at Prince of Peace. Ord also has a Catholic school with about 30 pupils. In Burwell, he’ll celebrate Mass at the annual rodeo in July.

Colling has grown to love Kearney. He knows his departure will be difficult for parishioners, but he believes he has laid the groundwork for a solid, active, thriving parish of which he is proud.

“I stood on the shoulders of Father Mike and the church leaders here, and now everything is in good order,” he said.

“Prince of Peace sits up there on a hill and people are drawn to it,” he said. Strangers sometimes call and come in to talk about faith with him. “Some become Catholic, but others do not, and that’s OK. One man just wanted me to help him understand some things,” he said.

“I think I’ve done what I can do. I wouldn’t have felt that way last year, when we had a bigger debt, but it’s time to turn it over to someone else. My season is done here,” he said.

Jason Downing, chair of the church’s stewardship committee, is thankful for what Colling brought to Prince of Peace.

“He fostered a parish culture rooted in kindness, service, and unity. He made everyone feel seen and valued. We are all better Christians because of him,” Downing said.