St. Joseph’s Cathedral

The history of St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Diocese of Sioux Falls, and the state of South Dakota are truly intertwined. The story, of course, really begins when Catholic missionary priests journeyed into what would become the Dakota Territory. The first of these was Father Pierre Jean De Smet, who began ministering in the region in 1838.

From those beginnings, the Catholic faith spread among the Native Americans and early settlers of the Plains. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a small log structure built in Bruyer's Settlement four miles east of Vermillion, is generally recognized as the first Catholic Church established in what would become the Diocese of Sioux Falls.

In March of 1861, legislation was signed creating the Dakota Territory. The Homestead Act, signed a few days later, began to attract settlers to the area. In time, Yankton became the territorial capital. And it was Yankton that Bishop Martin Marty, designated vicar apostolic of the Dakota Territories in August 1879, chose as his Episcopal home.

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