Williston – North Dakota, USA (Tuesday, 10/07/2014, Gaudium Press) – The oil industry in western North Dakota has attracted a large number of Mexican workers.

The influx of Spanish speaking people has brought a considerable transformation of the region. For the Catholic Church the need arouse to provide religious assistance for this sector of the population who is mainly Catholic.

To attend this need a group of Mexican sisters were invited to exercise their apostolic mission in the town of Williston, North Dakota, as reports the “Williston Herald”.

The missionary sisters arrived recently thanks to a nonprofit organization who offered the Diocese of Bismarck a grant to bring the sisters to Williston.

“This is a mission territory,” said Father Russell Kovash, from St. Joseph Catholic Church. “We need to reach the Hispanic parishioners who, many of them, speak little English” he said.

The religious, who come from Mexico City and the Mexican states of Coahuila and Chiapas, received an English course for nine weeks in the Mexican American Catholic College, in San Antonio, Texas.

Once the course was finished they moved Williston to help in catechesis and participate in the preparation and animation of the mass. Music, readings and liturgy will be on account of the sisters.

“We want the Catholics to know what it means to be Catholic.”… “The sisters have a great skill on attracting people even with no religious affiliation,” Father Russell said.

After Williston the sisters may go to other cities like Stanley, Minot and Dickinson. (JSG)