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August 10, 2023Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Enid is home to a sizable Micronesian culture, with many families having immigrated to Oklahoma from their South Pacific home. The parish recently celebrated those families and their culture on July 9, with a bilingual Mass in their native Chuuk langue. The Mass also featured many young people receiving their first sacraments.
The Mass was celebrated from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
“We had three kids that were baptized, four received confirmation and 11 First Communion,” said Rocio Montes, director of evangelization and safe environment. “The total that day, around 100 people were at the Mass.”
Micronesia, including the Chuuk State, has a large Christian population, especially Catholicism, and as families immigrated to the United States, they invited other families to join them.
“Some families invited them to come to Enid and some families came because they were suffering from domestic violence,” said Montes. “Our (Chuuk) regulars are between 30 – 40 each Sunday.”
The Mass was an outreach to the cultures and was bilingual in both Chuuk and English.
“The second reading was in Chuuk, and the prayers of the faithful were bilingual,” said Montes, adding that Dominick Alanso read the prayers in Chuuk, while Deacon Val Ross read them in English. “They sung the offertory song in Chuuk.”
It was an effort that Montes has been involved with to help the parishioners feel at home.
“I was very emotional. I felt like it was something that really answered their prayers,” said Montes. “We are really grateful to have Father Mark Mason in our community because he’s the one who had the initiative to approach them, to meet them where they are.”
Everett Brazil, III is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photos Theresa Bragg/Sooner Catholic.
