St. Francis Mission

Last updated

St. Francis Mission
Established1886;137 years ago (1886)
Location
Board of
Directors
President
Fr. John Hatcher, S.J.
Area
34 acres (14 ha)
Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic
Website SF Mission
St. Francis Mission
St. Charles Borromeo church (St. Francis SD) from S 1.JPG
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
LocationRosebud Indian Reservation
NRHP reference No. 75001723 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 20, 1975
Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri.png
Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Francis Mission is a Roman Catholic mission complex on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in St. Francis, South Dakota, in territory of the Lakota (Sioux) Native Americans. The mission was founded in 1886 by priests of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who were welcomed by Bishop Martin Marty of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, which extended to this territory at the time. The Jesuit order soon developed a large complex to serve the Lakota at this reservation. Most of the buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1916, but many were soon rebuilt.

Contents

Today the mission complex includes 26 buildings, the most prominent of which are St. Charles Borromeo Church and the 1916 Drexel Hall. The latter is a multi-function structure providing classrooms, meeting spaces, and residential spaces. The complex also includes one of two known copies of a statue of Native American saint, Kateri Tekakwitha, by Joseph-Émile Brunet. [2] The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [1]

History

Jesuit Fr. Peter DeSmet, S.J., was welcomed here in the 1840s by the Plains Indians on a mission from Saint Louis, Missouri. During this period, he had contacts with the Lakota. Based on DeSmet's reputation as a man who could be trusted, and on the Jesuit reputation as educators, in 1877, Chief Sinte Gleska (Spotted Tail), leader of the Sicangu Lakota, and Chief Red Cloud, leader of the Oglala, obtained permission from President Rutherford B. Hayes "to get Catholic priests. Those who wear black dresses. These men will teach us how to read and write English." [ citation needed ]

A Jesuit Father and brother reached the reservation soon after 1881 and, with financial help from St. Katherine Drexel, constructed a large building by 1886. [3] In 1888, Franciscan Sisters Kostka, Rosalia, and Alcantara came to teach in the school, which they named after St. Francis. Jesuit Fr. Florentine Digmann, who had come with the sisters, worked with the Lakota and established a total of 37 mission stations, or chapels, on the Rosebud Reservation.

Since 1974, the tribe has run the school, locally called Sapa Un Ti ("where the Black Robes live"), independently from the Jesuit mission. The many chapels have been replaced by six parishes on the reservation. [4]

Current programs

In 2016, three Jesuit priests, along with Jesuit Volunteer Corps members, [5] were serving the Mission. They were assisted by Lakota: a deacon, several commissioned lay ministers, and numerous volunteers, all of whom worked among the 20,000 Lakota who reside on the reservation. The Mission supports high school equivalency (GED) and adult education, the Icimani Ya Waste Recovery Center, the White River Recovery Center, the CYO Religious Education Center in Rosebud, and the Wiwila Wakpala after-school center in Spring Creek

The following programs are conducted at the Mission Center: [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "NRHP nomination for St. Francis Mission". National Park Service. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  3. "Life with the Lakota: A Jesuit mission on the rez". America Magazine. July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  4. "St. Francis Mission | Mission History". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  5. "St. Francis Mission | Jesuit Volunteers". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. "St. Francis Mission | About". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  7. "St. Francis Mission | Sapa Un Academy". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  8. "St. Francis Mission | Lakota Studies". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. "Land of the Burnt Thigh" . Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  10. "St. Francis Mission | Recovery". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  11. "NIMH » Suicide". www.nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  12. "More Mental Health Resources Needed to Battle Teen Suicides in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities : U.S. Medicine". www.usmedicine.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  13. "St. Francis Mission | Suicide Prevention". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  14. Catholic News Service, April 7, 2016. [ dead link ]
  15. "St. Francis Mission | KINI Radio". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  16. says, St Francis Mission Online Donation Campaign | The Practicing Catholic (February 8, 2011). "The St. Francis Mission Among the Lakota". The Practicing Catholic. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  17. "St. Francis Mission | Dental Clinic". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  18. "St. Francis Mission | Museum". www.sfmission.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  19. "Rosebud Sioux Tribe". TravelSouthDakota.com. December 1, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  20. "St. Francis Mission Records Catholic Jesuits Sisters of St Saint Francis of Penance and Christian Charity Lakota Sioux Sicangu Brule Indians Rosebud Reservation South Dakota | Marquette Archives | Raynor Memorial Libraries | Marquette University". www.marquette.edu. Retrieved February 20, 2017.

43°8′18.74″N100°54′16″W / 43.1385389°N 100.90444°W / 43.1385389; -100.90444