About St. George · Scotland, South Dakota
St. George Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish serving the small community of Scotland in southeastern South Dakota's Bon Homme County. Founded in 1885, the parish sits at 930 3rd Street in the town and is one of the earliest Catholic congregations in the area, with founding members including Charles T. Campbell, the town's first settler. Today St. George is administered as a mission of St. Boniface Church in nearby Idylwilde and is part of the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, sharing ministry with neighboring parishes in Yankton, Tyndall, Tabor, Lesterville, Springfield, and Idylwilde. The parish celebrates a Saturday Vigil Mass and a Thursday morning Mass, with confessions heard before the Vigil, and it sustains religious education and active community outreach for a wide rural area.
- Established
- 1885
- Patron
- St. George (Christian martyr)
- Rector
- Fr. Tom Anderson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux Falls (St. Martin of Tours Pastorate)
Why belong here
St. George offers a faithful, small-town Catholic community in the heart of Bon Homme County, where weekend and weekday Mass, regular confession, and a Wednesday Religious Education program are held in a parish founded in 1885. As part of the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate, it shares resources with seven other Catholic parishes across the region, meaning parishioners can take part in the wider life of the diocese while belonging to a tight-knit local congregation. Outreach efforts such as 'Mass in the Grass' at the Scotland city park and meal/yard-care ministries for families in need show a parish focused on fellowship, hospitality, and service to its neighbors.
Mass times at St. George
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
About St. George Parish, Scotland
St. George Catholic Church is a Roman Rite parish of the Diocese of Sioux Falls serving Scotland, South Dakota, and the surrounding rural area of Bon Homme County. The parish was founded in 1885 and is administered together with St. Boniface in Idylwilde as part of the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate. Mass is celebrated on Saturday evening (Vigil) and Thursday morning, with confessions heard before the Saturday Vigil. The parish shares a single parish office (phone, email, and the stmartintours.org website) with the other churches of the pastorate, all under Fr. Tom Anderson.
History
The parish dates to 1885, in the early wave of Catholic church-founding across Dakota Territory that accompanied homesteading and railroad settlement. Charles T. Campbell — credited as Scotland's first settler, the town's namesake promoter, a mayor of Scotland, and a state legislator — is documented in the Scotland Residential Historic District National Register nomination as a founding member of St. George's Catholic Church. His locally-quarried chalkstone house at 611 4th Street still stands and is individually listed on the National Register. Over more than a century the parish has remained a worshipping presence in Scotland, and today is sustained in mission status by St. Boniface, Idylwilde, within the multi-parish St. Martin of Tours Pastorate.
- Parish founded: 1885
- Founding member Charles T. Campbell (Scotland's first settler, c. June 1871)
- Became a mission of St. Boniface, Idylwilde
- Now part of the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate
Parish Life and Outreach
St. George and its sister parishes in the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate have launched visible community outreach in recent years. A 'Mass in the Grass' is held annually on the Saturday of the Corpus Christi weekend at the Scotland city park, with Mass at 4:00 PM followed by a community potluck — open to all, whether or not attendees can bring a dish. The pastorate has also piloted meal-preparation support for families or individuals going through difficult seasons, and yard clean-up crews for those needing an extra hand. The parish Facebook page invites visitors with the simple line, 'Come see Jesus here!'
- Mass in the Grass (Corpus Christi, Scotland city park)
- Community potluck after outdoor Mass
- Meal preparation for families/individuals in need
- Yard clean-up crews
Religious Education
Parish faith formation for children is offered through Wednesday Religious Education, as listed by the City of Scotland. The program is coordinated through the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate office.
- Wednesday Religious Education
The St. Martin of Tours Pastorate
St. George is one of eight Catholic parishes in the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate of the Diocese of Sioux Falls. The pastorate allows one pastoral team — currently led by Fr. Tom Anderson — to serve a geographically broad swath of southeastern South Dakota, sharing sacraments, faith formation, and administrative support. Member parishes are St. Boniface (Idylwilde), St. John the Baptist (Lesterville), St. George (Scotland), St. Vincent de Paul (Springfield), St. Wenceslaus (Tabor), St. Leo the Great (Tyndall), Sacred Heart (Yankton), and St. Benedict (Yankton).
- St. Boniface – Idylwilde
- St. John the Baptist – Lesterville
- St. George – Scotland
- St. Vincent de Paul – Springfield
- St. Wenceslaus – Tabor
- St. Leo the Great – Tyndall
- Sacred Heart – Yankton
- St. Benedict – Yankton
Visiting & Contact
St. George Catholic Church is located at 930 3rd Street, Scotland, SD 57059. The parish shares its office phone, email, and pastorate website with the rest of the St. Martin of Tours Pastorate; visitors and parishioners are encouraged to use those channels for sacraments, religious education registration, and outreach needs. The parish also maintains a Facebook page under the name 'St. George Catholic Parish-Scotland, SD'.
- Address: 930 3rd Street, Scotland, SD 57059
- Phone: (605) 583-4318
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: http://www.stgeorgesd.org (pastorate hub: stmartintours.org)
- Facebook: St. George Catholic Parish-Scotland, SD