About St. Bernard · Red Shirt, South Dakota
St. Bernard Church is a Catholic mission parish serving the Red Shirt Table community of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County (now Oglala Lakota County), South Dakota. It is one of the cluster of historic Lakota mission churches organized out of Holy Rosary Mission / Red Cloud Indian School and is administered as part of the Diocese of Rapid City. The parish serves the Oglala Lakota faithful of this remote prairie community on the reservation's southern edge, where faith and Lakota heritage have been intertwined for generations.
- Established
- 1977
- Patron
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rapid City
Why belong here
St. Bernard is one of the historic Lakota Catholic mission churches on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, served today through the Holy Rosary Mission pastoral cluster. For Oglala Lakota Catholics on Red Shirt Table, the parish offers the Eucharist in the rhythm of reservation life and is part of a wider community of faith that gathers for sodalities, the Catholic Sioux Congress, and Kateri Circles — a place where Catholic tradition and Lakota heritage continue to meet.
Mass times at St. Bernard
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Bernard Church
St. Bernard Church is a Catholic mission serving the Red Shirt Table community of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. It is part of the Holy Rosary Mission pastoral cluster administered under the Diocese of Rapid City, alongside the historic Red Cloud Indian School campus at Pine Ridge. The parish is a small but long-standing place of worship for the Oglala Lakota Catholics of this remote part of the reservation.
History and Heritage
Catholic life on the Pine Ridge Reservation traces back to 1888, when the Jesuits established Holy Rosary Mission / Red Cloud Indian School at the request of the Oglala chief Red Cloud and after federal restrictions on Catholic missionary work were lifted. In the first half of the 20th century, local mission parishes were organized across the reservation, each with a catechist, lay sodalities, and an itinerant Jesuit pastor, and the faithful gathered annually for the statewide Catholic Sioux Congress. After World War II, when religious practice declined, revitalization efforts from the 1970s onward reorganized the parishes — including St. Bernard at Red Shirt — with more resident (and fewer itinerant) Jesuit and Native priests and deacons, and parish councils. The Marquette University Archives list St. Bernard Mission (Oglala Lakota), Red Shirt, as operating continuously from 1977 to the present.
- 1888: Jesuits found Holy Rosary Mission / Red Cloud Indian School on Pine Ridge.
- Early 20th century: outlying mission chapels organized across the reservation with catechists and itinerant Jesuit pastors.
- 1970s onward: post-Vatican II reorganization places more resident Native and Jesuit clergy in the mission parishes.
- 1977–present: St. Bernard Mission at Red Shirt Table documented as active in diocesan and archival records.
The Holy Rosary Mission Pastoral Cluster
St. Bernard is not a standalone parish but one of the small mission churches clustered around Holy Rosary Mission at Pine Ridge. Together they share clergy, worship aids, and community life across the reservation. The cluster links Oglala Lakota Catholics across several communities while preserving each chapel's local identity.
- Holy Rosary Church, Pine Ridge (the mother church on the Red Cloud campus)
- Our Lady of the Sioux, Oglala
- Christ the King, Porcupine
- St. Ignatius of Loyola, Wanblee
- St. Bernard, Red Shirt Table
Mass and Worship Schedule
St. Bernard is a mission church with limited weekly Mass, served from the Holy Rosary Mission cluster. The parish's published schedule on the Diocese of Rapid City / Holy Rosary Mission sites lists weekend Mass on the first and third Sundays of the month at noon, with other Sundays typically observed as a Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest (Communion service). The Holy Rosary Mission site (churches.mahpiyaluta.org) at times notes that scheduled Masses at St. Bernard are currently not being celebrated — visitors should confirm before traveling to this remote location.
- 1st Sunday: 12:00 PM (Noon) Mass
- 3rd Sunday: 12:00 PM (Noon) Mass
- Other Sundays: Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest (Communion service)
- Weekday and holy-day schedules: consult the Holy Rosary Mission events calendar
Devotions and Community Life
The mission communities of Holy Rosary Mission continue long-standing Lakota Catholic devotional traditions alongside regular parish life. The annual Catholic Sioux Congress and general sodality meetings remain popular with elders, and many parishioners also attend the Mini (diocesan) and National Tekakwitha Conferences, with Kateri Circles organized at the parish level.
- Annual Catholic Sioux Congress
- Parish sodalities and general sodality gatherings
- Kateri Circles
- Mini and National Tekakwitha Conferences
Contact and Visiting
St. Bernard is reached through the Holy Rosary Mission pastoral offices. The mailing address is Red Shirt Table, South Dakota 57738, and the parish shares the cluster phone line and email used across the Lakota Catholic missions of Pine Ridge.
- Address: Red Shirt Table, South Dakota 57738
- Phone: (605) 867-5437
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocesan listing: https://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/location/red-shirt-table-st-bernard/
Diocese and Wider Church
St. Bernard is part of the Diocese of Rapid City, the Catholic diocese covering western South Dakota. The diocese was originally erected in 1902 as the Diocese of Lead and renamed the Diocese of Rapid City in 1930. The current bishop, as listed by GCatholic, is Bishop Scott Edward Bullock (installed June 25, 2024).
- Diocese of Rapid City
- Diocesan cathedral: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Rapid City
- Bishop: Scott Edward Bullock (2024–present)