St. Benedict Church introduces Spanish Mass

St. Benedict Catholic Church in Shawnee is embarking on a new phase of ministry. 
Beginning Sunday, the Shawnee parish will offer a Mass in Spanish at noon every Sunday.
The Rev. Don Wolf, new pastor at St. Benedict Church, 632 N. Kickapoo, recently met with Hispanic families in the community. The gathering was in the format of a potluck dinner and was attended by about 200 parishioners and friends from the area.
During the gathering, Wolf discussed the need to minister to the Hispanic population in the area, his intention to form a Hispanic council and to begin a Spanish Mass for the Hispanic community.
Oklahoma’s Hispanic population is one of the fastest growing in the country. Last year, the Hispanic population in the state grew by 5 percent and is the fastest-growing minority group in the state.
Over the past several years, the Most Rev. Eusebius Beltran, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, has been concerned about the growth in the Hispanic community in Pottawatomie County. One of the reasons Wolf was assigned to St. Benedict Church to replace the Rev. Maurus Jaeb, former pastor who was recalled by the abbot of St. Gregory’s Abbey to return to the Benedictine monastery, was Wolf’s experience in working with the Hispanic ministry. 
“I am excited to begin this new phase of parish life at St. Benedict Church,” Wolf said. “The growing presence of the Spanish-speaking among us is one of the great pastoral challenges of our time.”
Wolf further stated that most of the Spanish-speaking Catholics in the area are recently arrived immigrants. He compared these new residents to the settlers who arrived in Pottawatomie County more than 100 years ago.
“The Benedict monks founded St. Benedict Church to minister to the needs of new immigrants a hundred years ago,” Wolf said. “By reaching out to those most recently arrived, we can renew our own history. We were ministered to in our needs and now we must reach out to minister to their needs.”
Wolf said it is important to embrace the Hispanic community because those who come to the United States from other countries bring a wealth of experience and promise to the community and that “it is a definite plus for all of Shawnee, and for St. Benedict Church in particular.”
Anyone interested in finding more about the Spanish ministry at St. Benedict Church may call Wolf at 275-0001.