About Holy Rosary · Philadelphia, Mississippi
Holy Rosary Indian Mission is a Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Jackson that serves the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Located on Holy Rosary Road in the Tucker community of Neshoba County near Philadelphia, Mississippi, the parish is one of three mission churches in a single faith community spanning 87 miles — Holy Rosary in Tucker, St. Therese in the Pearl River Community, and St. Catherine in Conehatta. Founded in 1884, it is staffed by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (S.T.) and has been supported by the Catholic Extension Society since 1926. Holy Rosary is distinguished as the place where Father Bob Goodyear, S.T., translated the Mass into the Choctaw language and celebrated the first Vatican-approved Mass in Choctaw on May 1, 1983.
- Established
- 1884
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
- Rector
- Rev. Robert (Bob) Goodyear, S.T.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Jackson
Why belong here
Holy Rosary Indian Mission is the historic heart of Catholic faith among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and welcomes anyone drawn to its unique cultural and spiritual heritage. The parish offers an extraordinary liturgical treasure: Mass celebrated in both English and Choctaw, reflecting Father Bob Goodyear's eight-year effort to translate the Mass into the Choctaw language and have it approved by Rome. With three mission chapels spanning 87 miles of reservation land, an active lay-ministry formation program (including trained Eucharistic ministers who lead Communion services in the absence of a priest and bring the Eucharist to the sick), and a deeply pastoral priest recognized as a Lumen Christi Award finalist, Holy Rosary offers a faith community where tradition, language, and service to the poor and abandoned — the Trinity Missions charism — are lived out daily.
Mass times at Holy Rosary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Mass or by appointment
History and Founding of Holy Rosary Indian Mission
Holy Rosary Indian Mission was founded in 1884 as the Catholic Church's response to the Choctaw people who had remained in Mississippi after the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and the Trail of Tears. While the majority of the tribe was forced to Indian Territory, many stayed behind and were forced into hiding and sharecropping. In 1884, after the Bureau of Indian Affairs finally appointed an Indian agent acknowledging the remaining Choctaw, Father Bekker was sent by the Catholic Diocese of Mississippi to the Tucker community of Neshoba County to establish a church and school. The mission bought land, built houses, provided tools and seeds, and invited the Choctaw to settle. By mid-century, the mission owned over 2,000 acres and housed more than 1,000 Choctaws; what is today the Tucker Community and parts of the Pearl River and Conehatta Communities all trace back to Holy Rosary 'mission lands.'
- Founded in 1884 by Father Bekker
- Catholic Extension Society support began in 1926
- Current church building in Tucker constructed in 1969
- St. Therese Mission in Philadelphia built in 1972
- St. Catherine Mission in Conehatta is the third mission church
- Approximately 11,000 Choctaw tribal members now live on 35,000 acres across ten Mississippi counties
The Mission Church Structure
Holy Rosary Indian Mission is not a single parish but a federated faith community of three mission churches serving the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians across an 87-mile stretch of the reservation. Holy Rosary itself sits in the Tucker community of Neshoba County, St. Therese Mission serves the Pearl River Community, and St. Catherine Mission serves Conehatta. All three share one pastor and one associate pastor and operate as one worshipping community for scheduling and sacramental purposes.
- Holy Rosary — Tucker (Neshoba County)
- St. Therese Mission — Pearl River Community
- St. Catherine Mission — Conehatta
- Span: 87 miles of reservation land
Clergy and Trinity Missions
Holy Rosary Indian Mission has been staffed by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinity Missions) since 1944. The current pastor is Father Robert (Bob) Goodyear, S.T., who arrived in 1975, returned after assignments elsewhere in 1990 and again in 2006, and continues to lead the three-church parish. The associate pastor since December 1, 2024 is Father Alexis Zuniga-Velasquez, S.T.
- Pastor: Rev. Robert (Bob) Goodyear, S.T.
- Associate Pastor: Rev. Alexis Zuniga-Velasquez, S.T. (appointed Dec. 1, 2024)
- Religious institute: Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (S.T.) / Trinity Missions, present since 1944
Mass and Liturgy
Mass is celebrated in English at all three mission churches throughout the week, with a weekly Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM and Sunday Masses at 8:00 AM (Holy Rosary), 10:00 AM (St. Therese), and 12:15 PM (St. Catherine). Holy Day Vigil Mass is at 6:30 PM. The parish also celebrates Mass in the Choctaw language using Father Goodyear's Vatican-approved translation — a singular liturgical treasure for the Catholic Church in North America.
- Sunday: 8:00 AM at Holy Rosary
- Sunday: 10:00 AM at St. Therese
- Sunday: 12:15 PM at St. Catherine
- Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM at Holy Rosary
- Weekdays: Mon/Thu/Fri 8:00 AM; Tue 6:30 PM
- Choctaw-language Mass celebrated periodically with Vatican-approved translation
Sacraments
Holy Rosary Indian Mission offers the full range of Catholic sacraments. Father Goodyear personally serves as the catechist for Confirmation, and reports that many of those he has confirmed have gone on to become Eucharistic ministers. The parish also runs RCIA and RCIC programs year-round, with recent classes of fifteen young people and five adults.
- Baptism (recent example: nine children baptized at St. Catherine's at Easter)
- Confirmation (pastor as catechist)
- First Eucharist and ongoing Eucharist
- Marriage preparation and witness
- Anointing of the Sick and pastoral care of the dying
- Funeral services (pastor reported 3–4 funerals/week during COVID-19 peak)
Lay Leadership and Eucharistic Ministry
Because the parish has long had limited priestly personnel — Father Goodyear described serving as 'a staff of one for three churches' — Holy Rosary has invested heavily in lay leadership. Father Goodyear developed a training manual that teaches Eucharistic ministers not only how to serve during Mass, but also how to lead Communion services in the absence of a priest and how to deliver the Eucharist to the sick and shut-ins. This manual is now used throughout the Diocese of Jackson and in parishes in other states, and lay leaders carry much of the sacramental and catechetical work of the three missions.
- Eucharistic minister training manual (used across the Diocese of Jackson and beyond)
- Lay-led Communion services in the absence of a priest
- Eucharist brought to the homebound and sick
- Confirmation, RCIA, and faith formation led in partnership with lay catechists
Choctaw Language and Cultural Preservation
Perhaps the most distinctive apostolate of Holy Rosary Indian Mission is its preservation of the Choctaw language and culture within the Catholic faith. Father Bob Goodyear spent eight years learning Choctaw from three Choctaw teachers (the mission sits in a reservation with seven distinct Choctaw dialects) and then produced a Vatican-approved translation of the Roman Missal. The first Mass in Choctaw was celebrated on May 1, 1983 at St. Catherine Mission in Conehatta. When Father Goodyear arrived in 1975, Choctaw was the primary language of 98% of the tribe; today only the elders remain primarily Choctaw-speaking, making this liturgical translation all the more precious.
- First Vatican-approved Mass in Choctaw celebrated May 1, 1983 at St. Catherine
- Eight-year language study and translation process
- Translation reviewed by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, USCCB, and Sacred Liturgy office in Rome
- Ongoing efforts to keep Choctaw language and culture alive in the liturgy
Social Outreach and Community Service
Holy Rosary Indian Mission operates 'non-traditional' ministries alongside its sacramental work. Father Goodyear established the Choctaw Suicide Council and authored the corresponding Suicide Counseling Manual. He also opened a youth recreation center (remodeling the old convent building after the sisters moved to a new one) and has worked with the Choctaw Human Services Council, the Choctaw Most In Need Indian Children and Youth federal demonstration project, and the Choctaw grant writing office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Father Goodyear tended to two to four funerals per week and shifted his ministry toward helping the Choctaw grieve, while also encouraging vaccine uptake alongside tribal leadership.
- Choctaw Suicide Council
- Suicide Counseling Manual
- Youth recreation center
- Choctaw Human Services Council
- Choctaw Most In Need Indian Children and Youth federal demonstration project
- Pastoral care for the bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic
Contact and Practical Information
Holy Rosary Indian Mission is located at 10131 Holy Rosary Road, Philadelphia, Mississippi 39350 (mailing address: P.O. Box 37, Philadelphia, MS 39350-0037). Phone: (601) 656-2880. The parish email of record is [email protected]. The parish is registered as a 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 64-0391694).
- Address: 10131 Holy Rosary Road, Philadelphia, MS 39350
- Mailing: P.O. Box 37, Philadelphia, MS 39350-0037
- Phone: (601) 656-2880
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: holyrosaryindianmission.com
- EIN: 64-0391694 (501(c)(3))
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Bekker1884
Sent by the Catholic Diocese of Mississippi to the Tucker community of Neshoba County to establish Holy Rosary Indian Mission among the Mississippi Choctaw.
- Father Raphael Toner, S.T.circa 1940s
Missionary Servants priest working at Holy Rosary in 1948; submitted plans to the Bishop for the chapel in the Pearl River District (St. Therese Mission) and supervised early construction.
- Father Francis Deignan1935–1944
Champlain Missionary to the Choctaw Indian Nation at Tucker, Mississippi from 1935 until his reassignment to St. Alphonsus parish in Ocean Springs on May 6/8, 1944.
- Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinity Missions)1944–present
Religious congregation that has staffed Holy Rosary Indian Mission continuously since 1944.
- Rev. Robert (Bob) Goodyear, S.T.1975–1990; 2006–present
Newly ordained Trinity Missionary priest who first arrived in 1975; learned Choctaw language and translated the Mass into Choctaw, celebrating the first Vatican-approved Mass in Choctaw at St. Catherine on May 1, 1983; reassigned to Tennessee and then Magee; returned to the reservation in 2006 and remains pastor of Holy Rosary, St. Therese, and St. Catherine.