Extension Magazine - Fall 2021

26 INSPIRE
Lumen Christi Finalist
JENNY AND BEN BLACK BEAR | DIOCESE OF RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
Home-grown leaders
Twenty years
ago, Catholic
Extension funded
a comprehensive
study regarding
Lakota spiritual life
and practice of religion in western
South Dakota. The goal was to
begin a process to help Catholic
communities located on the
Diocese of Rapid City’s five Native
American reservations better
“reflect the community in which
the Church resides.” During that
process of intense listening, Native
American Catholics of the diocese
voiced their desire for a Church
that reflected their heritage and
values, reinforced by the Church
playing a more active role in the
community. That vision for a
stronger, more relevant Church
has been fulfilled in part by a
dynamic couple, Jenny and Ben
Black Bear III, who are members
of the Sicangu Lakota community
on the Rosebud Reservation in
South Dakota.
Jenny and Ben Black Bear grew
up in the same Catholic community
they now serve: St. Francis
Mission. Catholic Extension has
worked in solidarity with the
mission since 1910, supporting
priests and lay leaders, church
building projects, religious education,
health and social outreach
and health programs.
Blessed with three children of
their own, the Black Bears work
with Lakota families, resulting
Jenny and Ben Black Bear welcome Bishop Robert Gruss, former bishop of the Diocese of Rapid
City, to St. Francis Mission. When he departed to lead the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, he said,
“I love the people here. I love the land. I’ve really enjoyed being with and working with the Native
American population.”
in a steady increase
in practicing Lakota
Catholics.
They shared their
motivation: “We love
our ministry because
it gives not only us,
but the people we
work with hope. It is
meaningful to teach
so many families
the Catholic faith, to
inspire and encourage
them to continue on
their faith journey.”
BECOMING LEADERS
The Black Bears grew up with
family who instilled in them the
Ben Black Bear III was deployed
to Iraq from 2006 to 2007.
importance of their
faith. Ben’s father is
Deacon Ben Black
Bear, an influential
leader and teacher
of the Lakota
language within St.
Francis Mission.
He was previously
nominated for
the Lumen Christi
Award.
Jenny and Ben
were high school
sweethearts, and married in
2000. They left the reservation
when they began their careers.
Ben joined the military and was
deployed to Iraq from 2006 to 2007.