"The Catholic community is blessed, enriched and profoundly challenged by the faith of Native Americans in our midst. We ask the Catholic community to join us in seeking new understanding and awareness of their situation and in committing our church to new advocacy and action with our Native American brothers and sisters on issues of social justice and pastoral life which touch their lives."
National Conference of Catholic Bishops,1992: A Time for Remembering, Reconciling, and Recommitting Ourselves as a People: Pastoral Reflections on the Fifth Centenary and Native American People.
Established in 1989, the Congregation of the Great Spirit is a predominantly Native American Indian parish of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The mission statement for the parish proclaims: We the Congregation of the Great Spirit, a Catholic American Indian Parish in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, with the help of our sister, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, commit ourselves to the fulfillment of our Baptism in Jesus Christ. Treasuring the priceless heritage of our American Indian Culture and Spirituality, we seek to be His Church-Native to this time, this place, and this culture.
Please visit the parish's website for Mass times and ways to become involved.
The following resources are available at the USCCB website.
The National Tekakwitha Conference is a Roman Catholic institution that supports ministry among Native Americans through its annual conference and other services:
The organization is named in honor of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first indigenous woman of North America to be canonized. On October 21, 2012 Pope Benedict XVI declared her sainthood in Rome, Italy.
Visit the website for the National Tekakwitha Conference at https://tekconf.org.
For more information:
Susan McNeil, M.Div Director, Department for Catholic Social Responsibility
414-758-2214
mcneils@archmil.org
3501 South Lake Drive St. Francis, WI 53235