Executive Director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, Father Wayne C. Paysse, has recently facilitated the lifelong dreams of Jeff and Kathy Foley, parishioners of St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church located in Wheaton, MD to serve Native Americans through the works of the Catholic Church.
The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions was formed in 1874 by the urging of the United States Catholic Bishops to assist and advocate for the needs of the Catholic Native Americans. This organization has a long and rich history of collaborating with our Government to assist with the rebuilding of relationships and tending to the practical needs of the Native Americans. The Bureau’s primary mission is to support the staffing of schools, strengthen religious education programs and support building projects of the needs of Native American and Alaska Native Catholics. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions is located in Washington, DC in the historic home of Saint Katharine Drexel, who with the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, actively assisted with ministering to the needs of the Native American, Alaska Native, and African American Catholics.
Several months ago, Jeff and Kathy Foley reached out to Father Paysse to explore the possibility of serving the Indian Missions for a period of time ranging between one and three years. Nearing retirement – Jeff Foley retiring from the AARP Foundation and Kathy Foley closing up shop with a successful bookkeeping business – the couple decided that they wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of serving the Indian Missions. This dream began with Kathy’s relationship with her college roommate, a Navajo Indian. Devout Catholics and parishioners of St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church since 1984, service to those in need is a part of the Foley’s daily life.
Jeff and Kathy Foley have been married for 40 years and have been blessed with 6 children. Early on in their marriage they felt called to become missionaries for Maryknoll. At that time, it was decided that missionary life may not be appropriate for them; instead, Jeff and Kathy became very active in Worldwide Marriage Encounter and have been a team couple for 31 years. Mr. and Mrs. Foley, as representatives for Marriage Encounter, sit on the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities for the Archdiocese of Washington. They are also Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and are members of the RCIA team for St. Catherine of Laboure Parish.
Father Paysse spoke with several of the Native American Missions to seek interest in the Foley’s missionary service. The Foley’s visited a few Indian Missions, but felt called to serve at the St. Augustine Indian Mission located on the Winnebago Indian Reservation in Winnebago, Nebraska. The Mission is part of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska. The President of the Mission is Father David Korth, who has ministered to this Indian Mission for 10 years. It has been serving the Winnebago and Omaha tribes since 1909. Deeply rooted in the Catholic missionary history, these tribes wrote a letter to Bishop James O’Connor, the Bishop of Omaha, requesting the building of a Catholic school. Interestingly, Bishop O’Connor spent his early years in the priesthood in Philadelphia, where he was introduced to the Drexel family and eventually became the spiritual director of St. Katharine Drexel. Foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Bishop O’Connor assisted her with the writing of its constitution, which included the mission to build and staff schools for Native American children. So in 1909, at the Bishop’s request, Mother Katharine Drexel arrived in Winnebago to personally supervise the building of the Mission’s church, rectory and dormitory/school for children. The Mission School opened in the fall of 1909 through the efforts and personal resources of Mother Katharine Drexel. The extraordinary works and legacy of St. Katharine Drexel live on today benefitting the native American through the St. Augustine Indian Mission and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions. Currently, the school is being assisted by the good works of the Benedictine Sisters.
