About St. Thomas Aquinas · De Smet, South Dakota
St. Thomas Aquinas is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the rural community of De Smet, South Dakota — the 'Little Town on the Prairie' made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder — within the Diocese of Sioux Falls. It is one of three Kingsbury County parishes that share a pastor and a common website (alongside St. John the Evangelist in Arlington and St. Paul the Apostle in Iroquois), providing a sacramental anchor for Catholic families across this sparsely populated corner of eastern South Dakota. The parish gathers for Sunday morning Mass and a weekday morning Mass, with regular confession times and Eucharistic Adoration on Wednesdays and Fridays. The church maintains an adjacent Catholic Cemetery on the hilltop southwest of town next to the historic De Smet Cemetery.
- Established
- 1880
- Patron
- St. Thomas Aquinas
- Rector
- Reverend Larry Regynski
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux Falls
Why belong here
St. Thomas Aquinas offers the full rhythm of Catholic life in a tight-knit rural setting: Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m., a weekday Monday morning Mass, regular Sunday and Monday confession, and Eucharistic Adoration on Wednesdays and Fridays. As part of the shared Kingsbury Catholic cluster with St. John the Evangelist (Arlington) and St. Paul the Apostle (Iroquois), the parish combines small-town warmth with the resources of a multi-parish community — including weekly CCD religious-education classes for children. It's a place where Catholic families across eastern South Dakota can find a real sacramental home in the tradition of the Diocese of Sioux Falls.
Mass times at St. Thomas Aquinas
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.
- Monday: 9:00 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.
- Or by appointment
Adoration times
- Wednesday: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Friday: 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Parish Identity & Location
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church is the Catholic parish of De Smet, South Dakota, a small prairie town in Kingsbury County. It sits within the Diocese of Sioux Falls and shares its pastor and online home with two neighboring Catholic parishes in Arlington and Iroquois, forming the Kingsbury Catholic cluster. The mailing address is PO Box 15, De Smet, SD 57231-0015, while the physical church is at 512 3rd Street SW.
- Parish name: St. Thomas Aquinas
- Location: 512 3rd Street SW, De Smet, SD 57231
- Mailing: PO Box 15, De Smet, SD 57231-0015
- Diocese: Sioux Falls
- Rite: Roman-Latin
History
Founded in 1880 — the same year De Smet was platted as the Kingsbury County seat and the railroad first arrived — St. Thomas Aquinas is among the earliest Catholic communities in this part of eastern Dakota Territory. The parish grew alongside the wave of settlers in the 1880s under the missionary bishop Martin Marty, and when Dakota Territory was divided in 1889 the region became part of the new Diocese of Sioux Falls.
- Established: 1880 (per GCatholic)
- Diocese of Sioux Falls created: November 1889
- Parish shares clergy with St. John the Evangelist (Arlington) and St. Paul the Apostle (Iroquois)
Mass & Sacrament Schedule
The parish offers a small but steady sacramental schedule, with Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m. and a weekday Mass on Monday at 9:30 a.m. Confession is heard before each Mass and by appointment, and Eucharistic Adoration is held twice during the week.
- Sunday Mass: 10:30 a.m.
- Monday Mass: 9:30 a.m.
- Confession: Sunday 10:00–10:25 a.m. and Monday 9:00–9:25 a.m., or by appointment
- Eucharistic Adoration: Wednesday 5:00–6:00 p.m. and Friday 6:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.
Faith Formation & CCD
Religious education for parish children is offered through the traditional CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) program, with classes meeting on Wednesdays. Faith formation is coordinated across the Kingsbury Catholic cluster so that families in De Smet, Arlington, and Iroquois can share resources.
- CCD classes: Wednesdays
- Shared faith formation across the Kingsbury Catholic cluster parishes
Leadership & Clergy
The parish is currently served by a pastor and a parochial vicar, as listed by the Diocese of Sioux Falls. As part of the Kingsbury Catholic cluster, the pastor also oversees St. John the Evangelist in Arlington and St. Paul the Apostle in Iroquois.
- Pastor: Reverend Larry Regynski
- Parochial Vicar: Reverend David Garza
Contact & Visiting
Visitors and parishioners can reach the parish office by phone or email. The cluster website, listed as parishesontheprairie.com, hosts shared bulletins, Mass times, and parish news for the three Kingsbury County parishes.
- Phone: (605) 854-9961
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://parishesontheprairie.com/
- Diocese page: https://sfcatholic.org/parishes/st-thomas-aquinas-de-smet/
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Cemetery
The parish maintains the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Cemetery, which lies adjacent to the east of the original De Smet Cemetery on the hilltop southwest of town — the same hilltop that overlooks the town, the original Charles Ingalls homestead, and 'Big Slough' to the east. The wider De Smet Cemetery was incorporated in 1881, when the area was still Dakota Territory, and the St. Thomas Aquinas section continues to serve Catholic families of the area.
- Location: hilltop southwest of De Smet, adjacent to (east of) the De Smet Cemetery
- Serves Catholic families of Kingsbury County
De Smet & the Diocese of Sioux Falls
De Smet is the county seat of Kingsbury County in eastern South Dakota and is known worldwide as the 'Little Town on the Prairie' of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Diocese of Sioux Falls, which oversees St. Thomas Aquinas, was established in 1889 when the Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota was split between what became North and South Dakota, with the Swiss-born Benedictine missionary Bishop Martin Marty as its first ordinary.
- De Smet: county seat of Kingsbury County, 'Little Town on the Prairie'
- Diocese of Sioux Falls: established 1889
- Diocese covers all of South Dakota east of the Missouri River