Fr. Kevin Doyle was welcomed as the new pastor for St. Wilfrid Catholic Church of Woonsocket, St. Charles Catholic Church of Artesian, and St. Joseph Catholic Church of Wessington Springs and Duncan this summer.  

The high school youth group at St. Wilfrid enjoyed the opportunity to interview Fr. Kevin and introduce him to you.

Fr. Kevin grew up in Denver, Colo. He shared an interesting note that while he was not raised in South Dakota, his roots can be traced here as his grandfather was born and raised on the family homestead near Kimball and his grandmother was raised in Plankinton.

Following high school, he went on to Regis University (Colorado’s Jesuit University) for pre-med.  From there he questioned a call to religious life and joined the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston studying at Our Lady of Grace Seminary. After college he took over his dad’s (Homer Doyle) accounting firm in Denver. He did not enjoy accounting and felt the continued call to the priesthood, which was actually first detected when he was in third grade.   When asked why he wanted to be a priest, he answered with a big smile, “God only knows.”  A visit with former Sioux Falls Diocese Bishop Carlson led him to attend Holy Apostles Seminary in Connecticut.  

After being ordained in 2008, Fr. Kevin’s first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Pierre. In 2011, he was assigned to St. Anthony Catholic Church in Hoven and Church of St. John the Baptist in Onaka.  While there, he received an additional assignment to St. Augustine Catholic Church in Bowdle and Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hosmer.

As an Irishman/German, Fr. Kevin’s favorite saint is of course St. Patrick, which follows to his favorite color, green. His favorite prayer is the Guardian Angel prayer. There is no doubt that his favorite sports team is the Denver Broncos football team while his favorite baseball team is the Colorado Rockies (“… somebody has to cheer for them”). His favorite food is Italian, and his favorite animal is a dog, specifically the Golden Retriever breed.

When asked about his favorite church, he chose the “little church on the prairie,” St. Joseph of Duncan because of its small size (no microphone needed) and lots of kids. He loves to hear the “music” of kids in church.  His favorite thing about St. Wilfrid Church is the architecture.  Did you know that the architect for St. Wilfrid was the same architect that designed the Catholic Cathedral in Sioux Falls? He says the church is very welcoming and he likes all the color in the design.

Fr. Kevin has one older brother, Michael, who lives in Denver and works for Ball Corporation (the canning company). His mom, Winifred, also lives in Denver, but is currently here in Woonsocket visiting him for a few months.  His dad, Homer, is deceased.

Fr. Kevin is happy to be here and looking forward to getting to know the people of the communities and areas he serves.  In late summer, he took the opportunity for some vacation time in the Woonsocket area, to include learning about picking watermelons, cantaloupes and musk melons.

Welcome Fr. Kevin Doyle!

…See a photo in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.