About St. Kateri Teakwitha · Hoopa, California
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Mission Church is a small Roman Catholic mission serving the Hupa (Hoopa Valley) community on the Hoopa Reservation in the remote mountains of far northern Humboldt County, California. Named for St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized, the mission is administered from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Arcata, about 55 miles and two mountain passes away, as part of the Diocese of Santa Rosa. It celebrates a single Sunday Mass each week for local faithful and summer visitors, and the setting on the Trinity River makes it a favored spot for small retreats.
- Established
- 1986 (earliest dated records; Catholic presence on the Hoopa Reservation pre-dates this)
- Patron
- St. Kateri Tekakwitha (Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656–1680) — the first Native American to be canonized, canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012
- Rector
- Father Francis Gayam (Pastor; based at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Arcata)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Santa Rosa
Why belong here
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mission is the Catholic heart of the Hoopa Valley and the only place on the Hoopa Reservation where the Sunday Mass is celebrated weekly. It serves a faithful, close-knit Hupa Catholic community in a stunning setting on the Trinity River — a place the parish itself describes as 'a place of peace and prayer that contributes to the well-being of the Hupa Nation.' Worshippers value the mission's quiet mountain setting, its seasonal community potlucks, the outdoor feast-day prayer on Bald Hill, and the pastoral care of priests who travel two mountain passes to be there. Visitors, traveling musicians, and small retreat groups are warmly welcomed.
Mass times at St. Kateri Teakwitha
Weekly Mass schedule
Overview & Identity
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Mission Church is a small Catholic mission on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Humboldt County, California. It is the parish for the Hupa community in the remote mountains of far northern California and is administered as a mission of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Arcata, part of the Diocese of Santa Rosa. The mission's patroness, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, was the first Native American to be canonized, and her likeness and name shape the identity of this tight-knit community of faith.
- Type: Catholic Mission
- Diocese: Diocese of Santa Rosa
- Sponsoring parish: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Arcata
- Setting: Hoopa Valley Reservation, Humboldt County, CA
History
Catholic missionary activity on the Hoopa Reservation goes back well over a century, and dated parish records for the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mission begin in 1986. The mission is incorporated separately as 'Pastor of St Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Mission of Hoopa A Corpor.' In 2017 the parish said farewell to Fr. Bala (reassigned to Napa) and welcomed Fr. Francis (later identified as Fr. Francis Gayam) as parish priest, along with Fr. Andrew Pacheco. The mission marked the canonization-era feast of St. Kateri on July 14 with an outdoor prayer service on Bald Hill and a community potluck, and later that summer celebrated the baptisms of Joan and Nora Niday on July 16. During the COVID-19 pandemic the mission closed and re-opened in March 2021, continuing nearly continuous weekly Masses despite wildfire smoke in September 2021 and a major storm on December 26, 2021.
- Earliest dated records: 1986 (per Marquette University Guide to Catholic Records About Native Americans)
- Predecessor pastor: Fr. Bala (left for Napa, 2017)
- Current pastor: Fr. Francis Gayam (since 2017)
- Re-opened after pandemic: March 2021
Pastoral Leadership
The mission is led by priests based across the mountains at St. Mary's in Arcata, who make the long commute over two mountain passes to celebrate Mass and the sacraments. The 2021 report from the parish lists Pastor Father Francis Gayam and Parochial Vicar Father Fabian Nwokorie, supported by retired supply priest Father Francis Cloney. Fr. Andrew Pacheco served alongside the team in 2017. The priests travel what one parish bulletin called 'the costs of commuting to us are significant' — a real pastoral challenge in this remote corner of the diocese.
- Father Francis Gayam — Pastor
- Father Fabian Nwokorie — Parochial Vicar
- Father Francis Cloney — Retired Supply Priest
- Father Andrew Pacheco — Associate Priest (2017)
Mass & Worship Schedule
Per the canonical schedule published on the St. Mary's Arcata website (the mission's own operating page), St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mission celebrates one Sunday Mass per week at 11:30 a.m. on Pine Creek Road in Hoopa. Because the priest travels in from Arcata, services are occasionally affected by weather, road closures, and wildland-fire smoke — the parish itself notes Mass cancellations during the September 2021 fires and the December 26, 2021 storm.
- Sunday Mass: 11:30 a.m. (English)
- Schedule corrections posted via St. Mary's parish bulletin
Sacraments
Weekly Sunday Mass, baptism, reconciliation, and pastoral care for the sick are available through the mission. Baptisms are celebrated as full community events (as with Joan and Nora Niday on July 16, 2017, when 'the church was full to overflowing'). Father Francis Gayam is noted as 'a warm confessor who carries a spirit of joy' — a fitting description for a small mission where the priest is also visitor, confessor, and friend.
- Sunday Eucharist
- Baptism
- Reconciliation (Confession)
- Anointing of the Sick
- Homebound and hospital visits
Community Life & Ministry
The mission describes its goal as 'a place of peace and prayer that contributes to the well-being of the Hupa Nation' and aims 'to survive, to revive, to regrow, and to evangelize.' Lay leadership — notably Lou Bull, who compiled and distributed the weekly bulletin by email and in print — has been central to keeping the small community connected. The parish reaches out practically as well: it stored and distributed emergency clothing for about 200 members of the Hoopa and neighboring communities, and it sheltered donated hospital beds for elders returning from skilled nursing.
- Pastoral care of the Hupa community
- Emergency clothing ministry (~200 people served)
- Storage and redistribution of donated hospital beds
- Weekly bulletin (email + printed copies)
- Workday retreats for young people
- Small-group retreats along the Trinity River
Feast Day & Local Traditions
The feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14) is the mission's big day. In 2017 the community climbed Bald Hill for a prayer service in honor of their patroness and shared a potluck of 'wonderful healthy food from the kitchens and gardens of the local people.' Summer also brings visitors and traveling musicians, who are warmly welcomed.
- July 14: Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha — outdoor prayer service on Bald Hill
- Community potluck of local foods
- Welcoming visiting musicians in summer
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Fr. Balauntil ~2017
Pastor who was reassigned to Napa; presided at baptisms and was warmly remembered by the parish.
- Rev. Francis Gayam2017–present
Succeeded Fr. Bala as parish priest; familiar to the congregation from earlier visits; described as 'a warm confessor who carries a spirit of joy.'