About Sacred Heart · Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Sacred Heart is a Catholic mission church located at the central intersection of Pine Ridge Village on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. Founded in 1890, it was the first Catholic church organized on the reservation and remains the largest congregation on the Pine Ridge Reservation, serving the communities of Pine Ridge Village, Slim Buttes, Calico, Wolf Creek, and Batesland, together with families from White Clay and Rushville. The parish is staffed by Jesuit priests (Society of Jesus) of Holy Rosary Mission and is attended from that mother mission, continuing the Catholic presence begun on the reservation in the 1880s at the invitation of the Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud. It belongs to the Diocese of Rapid City and offers Sunday and Wednesday Mass, weekly Rosary, and Lenten Stations of the Cross.
- Established
- 1890
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Brad Held, SJ
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rapid City
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is the oldest and largest Catholic community on the Pine Ridge Reservation, with roots going back to the very first Catholic congregation organized there in 1890. Worship is led by Jesuit priests of Holy Rosary Mission together with a permanent deacon and a team of Lakota and non-Lakota lay ministers who know the community personally. The parish offers a steady rhythm of Sunday and weekday Mass, a weekly Monday Rosary, and Lenten Stations of the Cross, plus sacraments and a Healing and Reconciliation Service during Advent — making it a faithful spiritual home for Oglala Lakota Catholics and visitors alike.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Healing and Reconciliation Service — Saturday, December 6 at 11:00 AM (Advent 2025 schedule published by the Diocese of Rapid City). Contact the parish office for additional Reconciliation opportunities.
Sacred Heart — Pine Ridge Mission Parish
Sacred Heart is a Catholic mission church at the central intersection of Pine Ridge Village on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. It is attended from Holy Rosary Mission and staffed by a team of Jesuit priests, a permanent deacon, and Lakota and non-Lakota lay ministers. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Rapid City and is the oldest and largest Catholic congregation on the reservation.
- Type: Mission (attended from Holy Rosary Mission)
- Diocese: Rapid City
- Founded: 1890
- Patron: Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Address: 40 E. Highway 18, Pine Ridge, SD 57770
- Office: 605-867-5551 · Center/Hall: 605-867-6287
History of the Parish
Sacred Heart was founded in 1890 as the first Catholic church organized on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The first Masses were celebrated in a converted store building dating to 1880 until a dedicated church was completed in 1927. That church served the growing Oglala Lakota Catholic community until the present, larger Sacred Heart Church complex was dedicated in 1972. The parish grew directly out of the Jesuit missionary effort at Holy Rosary Mission, founded in 1887–1888 at the request of Oglala leader Red Cloud and supported by Saint Katharine Drexel.
- 1890 — Sacred Heart founded, first Catholic church on Pine Ridge Reservation
- 1880–1927 — Services held in a converted store building from 1880
- 1927 — First dedicated Sacred Heart church building completed
- 1972 — Present-day Sacred Heart Church complex dedicated
- 1887–1888 — Holy Rosary Mission (Jesuit) founded nearby, providing the priestly staff for Sacred Heart
Devotions and Other Services
Beyond Sunday and weekday Mass, Sacred Heart keeps a simple weekly and seasonal rhythm of prayer that draws the parish together through the year.
- Rosary — Mondays at 5:00 PM
- Stations of the Cross — Fridays in Lent at 6:30 PM
- Healing and Reconciliation Service — Advent (see schedule)
Parish Staff and Clergy
Sacred Heart is staffed by Jesuit priests of Holy Rosary Mission working together with a permanent deacon and a multidisciplinary team of lay ministers organized into Discipleship, Pastoral & Social Ministry, and Operations teams.
- Rev. Brad Held, SJ — Pastor / Discipleship Team Associate
- Rev. Ryen Dwyer, SJ — Parochial Vicar / Pastoral & Social Ministry Team Associate
- Rev. Ronald Seminara, SJ — Associate Pastor / Discipleship Team Associate
- Dcn. Bill White — Permanent Deacon / Pastoral & Social Ministry Team Associate
- Joyce Tibbitts — Pastoral & Social Ministry Team Leader / Safe Environment
- Viola Loafer — Pastoral Assistant
- Lisa Swallow — Operations Team Leader
- Carol LaDeaux — Operations Team Associate
- Angela Stover — Operations Team Associate
Communities Served
Sacred Heart is the largest Catholic congregation on the Pine Ridge Reservation and serves a wide geographical area across southwestern South Dakota and into neighboring Nebraska.
- Pine Ridge Village
- Slim Buttes
- Calico
- Wolf Creek
- Batesland
- White Clay
- Rushville
Visiting and Contact
Sacred Heart is located at the central intersection of Pine Ridge Village on U.S. Highway 18. All listed Mass and devotion times are Mountain Time. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to the parish office, especially around Holy Days, weather, and travel on the reservation.
- Address: 40 E. Highway 18, Pine Ridge, SD 57770
- Mailing: PO Box 359, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-0359
- Office phone: 605-867-5551
- Center / Hall: 605-867-6287
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocese listing: https://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/location/pine-ridge-sacred-heart/
Sacred Heart within the Diocese of Rapid City
Sacred Heart is one of the parishes and missions of the Diocese of Rapid City, which publishes an annual Advent Reconciliation schedule and other regional liturgical resources for parishes across western South Dakota. Sacred Heart is part of the historic cluster of Jesuit-served parishes on the Pine Ridge Reservation that descend from Holy Rosary Mission.
- Diocese: Rapid City
- Listed by GCatholic as Church of the Sacred Heart (ID 36671)
- Advent Reconciliation 2025: Healing and Reconciliation Service, Saturday December 6, 11:00 AM