About Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary · Kenel, South Dakota
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a small Catholic mission church in the unincorporated village of Kenel, on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Corson County, South Dakota. It is a mission of St. Bernard Parish in neighboring McLaughlin, within the Diocese of Rapid City, and is currently served by a pastoral team based in McLaughlin. The village itself is named for the Benedictine missionary priest Fr. Martin Kenel, O.S.B., one of the first monks sent to evangelize the Standing Rock Sioux in the 1880s. The parish once represented nearly the entire population of the village; today it counts roughly 57 registered households and gathers a small but devoted congregation each Sunday for Mass.
- Established
- 1886
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (under her title of the Assumption)
- Rector
- Rev. Jim Hoerter
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rapid City
Why belong here
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the oldest Catholic communities on the Standing Rock Reservation, with roots going back to the Benedictine missionaries of the 1880s. Today, although the village is small, the parish remains an active center of Catholic life: Sunday Mass is celebrated at noon in the log-cabin-style church that was rebuilt and consecrated in the Jubilee year 2000, and the pastoral team brings Holy Communion to the homebound, visits the sick in Mobridge and Bismarck, and offers faith formation for adults and children. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed by a multigenerational congregation that continues a 140-year-old tradition of Lakota Catholic life on the prairie.
Mass times at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity & Mission
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Catholic mission church serving the small village of Kenel on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Corson County, South Dakota. It is formally a mission of St. Bernard Parish in McLaughlin and is part of the Diocese of Rapid City. The parish shares its Sunday worship life with two other small Standing Rock missions — St. Aloysius in Bullhead and the parent parish of St. Bernard in McLaughlin — under a single pastoral team.
- Official name: Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Status: Mission (of St. Bernard, McLaughlin)
- Diocese: Rapid City
- Rite: Roman-Latin
History
Catholic life in Kenel traces to 1876, when Benedictine missionaries arrived on the Standing Rock Reservation under Abbot Martin Marty, O.S.B. In 1884 the Swiss-born Fr. Martin Kenel, O.S.B., was appointed superior of the Standing Rock mission and founded St. Benedict's Mission a few miles south of the agency. He established an agricultural school for Lakota children and remained its superintendent for twenty-two years; the village of Kenel was later named for him, and in 1906 the school itself was renamed the Martin Kenel Agricultural School by order of the Secretary of the Interior. The parish file in the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions archives at Marquette University runs continuously from 1886 to the present.
- 1876: Abbot Martin Marty, O.S.B., arrives at Standing Rock.
- 1881: Conception Abbey assumes the Standing Rock mission; Frs. Bede Marty and Martin Kenel volunteer.
- 1884: Fr. Martin Kenel founds St. Benedict's Mission and its agricultural school south of the Agency.
- 1886: Parish records begin (continuous to today).
- 1906: Fr. Kenel retires; school renamed Martin Kenel Agricultural School.
- 1930: Diocese of Lead renamed Diocese of Rapid City.
- Mid-1990s: Original log church destroyed by lightning.
- Jubilee Year 2000: New church consecrated, built under Fr. Steve Biegler and Msgr. William O'Connell.
- 2016: Franciscan pastoral team returns to Standing Rock at Bishop Gruss's invitation.
- July 2017: Fr. Jim Hoerter assigned as Pastor of the McLaughlin–Kenel–Bullhead cluster.
Founding Missionary: Fr. Martin Kenel, O.S.B.
Fr. Martin Joseph Kenel was born on 4 June 1854 in Arth, Switzerland, completed his classical and philosophical studies at the Benedictine school of Maria Einsiedeln, and came to America to enter religious life. After time at St. Meinrad he transferred to the newly founded Conception Abbey in Missouri, professed vows on 24 June 1876, and was ordained to the priesthood on 2 September 1877. In 1881 he volunteered, together with Fr. Bede Marty, to take over the Standing Rock mission from St. Meinrad; in 1884 he was appointed its superior. He retired for health reasons in 1906 and died at the abbey on 30 July 1917. The village of Kenel and the agricultural school both bear his name.
- Born 4 June 1854, Arth, Switzerland
- Professed vows 24 June 1876 at Conception Abbey
- Ordained 2 September 1877
- Appointed superior of Standing Rock mission, 1884
- Founded St. Benedict's Mission and agricultural school
- Superintendent of the school for 22 years
- Retired 1906; died 30 July 1917
Pastoral Team
Since July 2017, the parish has been served by a three-person pastoral team based in McLaughlin and shared with St. Bernard, McLaughlin, and St. Aloysius, Bullhead. The team combines a diocesan priest with two Franciscan sisters.
- Rev. Jim Hoerter — Pastor (assigned July 1, 2017)
- Sr. Jacque Schroeder, O.S.F. — pastoral team, Safe Environment coordinator; served Standing Rock in the 1980s–2004 before returning in 2016
- Sr. Mathilde Osomba-Akatshi, S.S.F.A.T. — pastoral team; Franciscan sister from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sacramental & Pastoral Ministries
The pastoral team carries out the usual sacramental and catechetical ministries of a small mission parish across the Standing Rock cluster. In addition to Sunday Mass, the sisters and Fr. Hoerter bring Holy Communion to the elderly and homebound, make hospital visits in Mobridge and in Bismarck (about 80 miles north), and offer religious-education classes and Vacation Bible School for children. Adult faith formation, including RCIA, is offered at the sister parish of St. Bernard, McLaughlin, where candidates such as Ellen Woodard have prepared for confirmation at Easter.
- Holy Communion to the homebound and elderly
- Hospital visits in Mobridge and Bismarck
- Religious education / Vacation Bible School for youth
- Adult faith formation and RCIA (at St. Bernard, McLaughlin)
Visit & Contact
The mission is attended from McLaughlin; all phone and mail contact goes through the St. Bernard rectory. Travelers from outside the area should plan for the small unincorporated community along Highway 1806 and be mindful of mountain/Central Time. Sunday Mass is at noon.
- Address: 1/2 mile S. of town on Hwy 1806, Kenel, SD 57648
- Mailing address: PO Box 539, McLaughlin, SD 57642-0539
- Phone (rectory): (605) 823-4401
- Pastor: Rev. Jim Hoerter ([email protected])
- Mass: Sunday 12:00 PM Central Time
The Standing Rock Cluster
Assumption is one of three small parishes clustered under a single pastoral team on the Standing Rock Reservation: St. Bernard in McLaughlin (the parent parish, with Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time), Assumption in Kenel (Sunday noon, Central Time), and St. Aloysius in Bullhead (Sunday 4:00 p.m., Central Time). The cluster serves the roughly 4,165 residents of Corson County and a broader Native American community that numbers at least 8,600 across the reservation. Parish membership has declined sharply over the last twenty years; funerals remain common while baptisms, weddings and confirmations are rare. In 2019–2020 the community faced a wave of meth addiction, suicides and violent crime that the sisters and Fr. Hoerter continue to accompany pastorally.
- St. Bernard, McLaughlin — parent parish, Sunday 8:00 a.m. Mountain
- Assumption of the BVM, Kenel — Sunday 12:00 noon Central
- St. Aloysius, Bullhead — Sunday 4:00 p.m. Central
Diocese of Rapid City
The parish belongs to the Diocese of Rapid City, which was erected in 1902 as the Diocese of Lead from territory in the Sioux Falls Diocese and renamed the Diocese of Rapid City in 1930. The diocese has ministered to Native Catholics on the Standing Rock Reservation continuously since the 1880s and reported 6,000 baptized Native American Catholics in 1902 and 14,800 in 1999. Bishops who have shaped the present parish include Bishop John J. Lawler (1916–1948), under whom much of the parish's correspondence was written, and Bishop Robert D. Gruss (2011–2019), who in 2016 invited the Franciscan pastoral team back to Standing Rock. Confirmation for the parish community is scheduled for 2026 with Bishop Bullock.
- Diocese erected 1902 as Diocese of Lead; renamed Rapid City 1930
- Bishop Robert D. Gruss invited the Franciscan team back to Standing Rock in 2016
- Bishop-elect Steve Biegler, who rebuilt the Kenel church after the 2000 fire, was later named Bishop of Cheyenne (2017)
- Confirmation scheduled April 19, 2026 with Bishop Bullock
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Martin Kenel, O.S.B.1884–1906
Swiss-born Benedictine missionary from Conception Abbey; superior and founder of St. Benedict's Mission; namesake of the village and of the Martin Kenel Agricultural School.
- Rev. Othmar Buerkler, O.S.B.early 20th century
Benedictine priest; major correspondent in Marquette University parish file (1920s–1940s).
- Rev. Victor Heinen, O.S.B.early 20th century
Benedictine priest; major correspondent in Marquette University parish file.
- Rev. Vincent Frechmid-20th century
Listed as a major correspondent in Marquette BCIM records for the Kenel/St. Benedict parish.
- Rev. Steve Biegler1996–2003
Co-Pastor of St. Bernard, McLaughlin and its missions including Assumption in Kenel; rebuilt the Kenel church after the 2000 lightning fire; later Vicar General of Rapid City and Bishop of Cheyenne (2017).
- Msgr. William O'Connell1990s–2000s
Served alongside Fr. Biegler on Standing Rock; co-led the 'wake service' for the burned log church.
- Rev. Michel Mulloyuntil mid-2017
Pastor of St. Bernard / Assumption / St. Aloysius cluster until reassignment in May 2017.
- Rev. Jim HoerterJuly 2017–present
Current pastor of the McLaughlin–Kenel–Bullhead cluster, assigned by Bishop Robert Gruss effective July 1, 2017.