Catholic Diocese of Sioux Fall
On Monday May 27th the annual Memorial Day Mass was celebrated at St. Mathew Church near Veblen S.D. Fr. Gregg Frankman was the celebrant. Fr. Frankman will be retiring July 1st. The parishioners of St. Kateri community thank Fr. Frankman for his years of service to native people on the Sisseton-Wahpeton reservation.
The celebration at St. Matthew is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the long history of the Catholic Church on the Sisseton-Wahpeton reservation. The current church was built by a joint effort of Native Americans and white settlers. In the early days of the parish’s existence it was dependent on area priests to provide the sacraments, but in 1923 Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney arranged with the Oblate Fathers to minister to the Native people of the reservation.
Although St. Matthew parish is no longer in existence, the church is still maintained as well as the adjacent cemetery. Many of the founding members rest in that cemetery, and the Memorial Day Mass allows for the families to pray for the repose of their loved one and to celebrate their faith in Jesus.
With the decline in priestly and religious vocations, it is important that we are able to celebrate our faith as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus is the Light who entered the world of darkness. We pray that God would bless us with vocations so that the work of spreading the Gospel will continue.
