We invite readers to send short stories about the ways in which their lives have been personally blessed by the life and work of priests and religious in our diocese.

By Karina Fabian

The Society of the Divine Word is dedicated to foreign missionaries and Father Herbert Pins has classmates in 35 countries across the world. However, he has found his calling closer to home.

Father Pins was raised on a large dairy farm near Earlville, Iowa. He entered the Society of the Divine Word at age 19. He studied in seminary for two years at Duxbury, Mass., then studied philosophy for another two in Epworth, Iowa, and received a degree in sociology. He joined the Divine Word Missionaries in 1968.

He received two master’s degrees: one in divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and one in theology from DePaul University. He was ordained a priest on Dec. 18, 1971, and started his work in the hospitals of Pittsburgh. In 1980, he moved to Seattle, where he worked as a priest in the major hospitals there as well as in the Swedish Medical Center and the Fred Hutchinson Bone Marrow Transplant Center.

He found the work very rewarding. Ministry is an important part of healing, he said. “There’s a window of opportunity when working with the ill,” he said. “When people are thrust into an environment like a hospital, they become very aware of their spiritual needs.” He found this especially true for the mentally ill, who were often cut off from family and society as well as from their homes. “They are often very vulnerable in their spiritual needs,” he said.

At the same time, it was taxing. He was at the hospitals’ beck and call 24/7, sometimes handling as many as six emergency calls a night, then catching a few hours of sleep before doing his regular daytime duties. He also dealt with a transient population.

“You make friends for a week or a month, but you lose the connections. With 3,000 beds to minister to, you learn names and go on. It was also painful to get to know someone only to watch them die. I’ve been with a thousand people as they died.”

When he found himself getting “burned out” by his hospital ministry, Father Pins decided a change in venue was needed. He interviewed with the bishops in Great Falls and Helena, and in 1996, came to St. Helena Cathedral in Helena, staying for two years.

Then he was assigned to the Flint Creek Catholic Community (Philipsburg and Drummond) as pastor before going to St. Rose of Lima Parish in Dillon with its missions in Melrose, Lima, Grant and Wisdom. He’s also the priest coordinator of Ennis, Laurin and Sheridan.

In addition, he served at the state men’s prison at Deer Lodge from 1997 to 2004 and at the Warm Springs State Psychiatric Hospital from 1997 to the present.

He’s enjoying being a pastor in the diocese. “It feels like I’ve come 360. My roots were in rural Iowa and now I’m in a very rural area here in Dillon.” He’s enjoying having the chance to fly fish, hunt and hitting the highway with his Harley, “Elijah – the fiery chariot.”

He finds his work as a parish priest, with its more predictable schedule, relaxing as well. “It’s easier on my psyche and physical well-being. I deal with the same people every week which is consoling and easier. I can build connections over the years, so it gives me more stability. Also, I only do about a dozen funerals a year. I like that I’m in a rural setting here in Dillon.”


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 12, 2007.